It seems that social media platforms will not be forced to draw a line in the sand in regards to deciding whether to allow a livestream of a U.S. military execution, with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing in an Oct. 15 Truth Social post that the event will not be broadcast, as had been initially suggested by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Late last week, in an interview with podcaster Jack Posobiec, Hegseth said that the upcoming military execution of Nidal Hasan would be livestreamed to ensure that the public had the opportunity to watch.
Hasan killed 13 people and injured 32 others in a mass-shooting incident at Fort Hood, Texas army base in 2009. According to Reuters, former U.S. Army psychiatrist Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013. Reuters reported on Oct. 6 that Trump ordered the execution to be carried out by use of a firing squad. Two days later, the Pentagon announced that the execution would be livestreamed, per Reuters.
Hegseth did not discuss the logistics of the livestream during his podcast interview, nor did he secure any official social media platform host for the broadcast. However, indications suggested that social platforms would be called upon to stream the event, which sparked strong condemnation from many.
But on Oct. 15, President Trump ruled out a livestream of the execution, announcing the cancellation on Truth Social.
As per Trump: “I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”
Trump added that the families of the victims would have the opportunity to view Hasan’s execution privately.
According to NBC, Trump soured on the idea of livestreaming the execution when he found out that Hasan was paralyzed after sustaining injuries during the 2009 incident.
This means social media platforms will not be forced to reckon with the political and reputational fallout of allowing or not allowing the broadcast. That should have many executives at the major apps breathing a sigh of relief, given the delicate balance they’re working to maintain with the Trump administration.
It also means that the public probably won’t find out where each platform stood, which might have provided more insight into how far they would go to align with Trump’s wishes.
Meta and X in particular have demonstrated a clear willingness to adhere to the Trump administration’s demands on content moderation and third-party fact-checking during Trump’s second term as president.
