Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan
Former Secretary of State called the proposal 'barbaric', drawing criticism referencing past comments.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Hillary Clinton is slammed for her comments on livestreamed execution
Photograph: Internewscast (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Hillary Clinton described a reported plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan as 'barbaric'.
- Critics responded by highlighting a resurfaced video of Clinton joking about Muammar Gaddafi's death in 2011.
- President Donald Trump endorsed Hasan's execution by firing squad but was noncommittal about livestreaming.
- Vice President JD Vance stated he would not watch the execution if it were livestreamed.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Hillary Clinton has faced criticism for calling a reported plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan 'barbaric'. The former Secretary of State posted on social media that the idea was 'beneath our dignity as a country' and urged people to 'push back on this'.
Critics responded by pointing to a video of Clinton reacting to the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. In the resurfaced footage, Clinton is heard joking, 'We came, we saw, he died,' after reporters informed her of Gaddafi's killing. Graphic images of Gaddafi's body had circulated widely at the time.
President Donald Trump has endorsed Hasan's execution by firing squad, stating the convicted killer 'deserves it'. However, Trump was noncommittal when asked about the livestream proposal, telling reporters that a determination was being made. Vice President JD Vance stated he would not watch the execution if it were livestreamed.
Disagreement on execution method
Internewscast reported that Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle directed the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad, after Trump approved the death sentence. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated in an interview that Hasan would be publicly executed by firing squad and that 'people will be able to watch it'. Dailymail.com reported Trump endorsed Hasan's execution by firing squad, suggesting 'he deserves it' but was noncommittal about Hegseth's plan to livestream it. Internewscast also reported Trump told reporters, 'He will be killed. He will be, through firing squad,' and that he did not care how Hasan went as long as he was executed.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned the UN human rights office's statement that broadcasting the killing 'is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture'.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 10 Oct 2026, 17:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports led on Hillary Clinton's criticism of the reported plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. Both Internewscast and dailymail.com highlighted Clinton's use of the word 'barbaric' and the subsequent backlash she received. They also reported on the resurfaced video of Clinton's reaction to Muammar Gaddafi's death. Both outlets detailed President Donald Trump's endorsement of Hasan's execution by firing squad and his noncommittal stance on the livestreaming aspect. Internewscast also included Vice President JD Vance's statement that he would not watch the livestreamed execution.
Right
5 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on Hillary Clinton's denouncement of the execution plan, often framing her as a hypocrite. The Daily Bo Snerdley digest stated Clinton 'denounced the Pentagon’s plan' and that her post 'sparked responses invoking the 2012 Benghazi attack and her widely circulated remarks about Muammar Gaddafi’s death'. Bizpac Review and American Wire News digests reported Clinton was urged to 'sit this one out' after denouncing the execution. Twitchy's digest stated Clinton 'criticizes America’s first military execution in 60 years of terrorist Nidal Hasan'. Breitbart's digest reported that 'Hollywood celebrities' denounced the plan, naming Henry Winkler and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 71% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan biased?
- Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Hillary Clinton faces backlash over execution livestream plan?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Hillary Clinton say about the execution plan?
- Hillary Clinton described the reported plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan as 'barbaric' and 'beneath our dignity as a country'.
- Why was Hillary Clinton criticised?
- Critics resurfaced a video of Hillary Clinton joking about Muammar Gaddafi's death in 2011 after she called the execution livestream plan 'barbaric', suggesting hypocrisy.
- What is President Trump's stance on the execution?
- President Donald Trump has endorsed Nidal Hasan's execution by firing squad, stating the convicted killer 'deserves it'. He has been noncommittal about the plan to livestream the execution.
- Did any other officials comment on the livestream plan?
- Yes, Vice President JD Vance stated he would not watch the execution if it were livestreamed. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth indicated the execution would be public and viewable.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
2- Hillary Clinton Faces Backlash Over Comments on Livestreamed Execution (opens Internewscast in a new tab)
Internewscast — is Internewscast biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hillary Clinton is slammed for her comments on livestreamed execution (opens dailymail.com in a new tab)
dailymail.com — is dailymail.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
5- ‘Sit this one out!’: Hillary Clinton calls Trump's execution plan ‘barbaric’ — and X users have a long memory - The Daily Bo Snerdley (opens thedailybs.com in a new tab)
thedailybs.com — is thedailybs.com biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Hillary urged to ‘sit this one out’ after denouncing the public execution of Fort Hood terrorist (opens Bizpac Review in a new tab)
Bizpac Review — is Bizpac Review biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hillary urged to 'sit this one out' after denouncing the public execution of Fort Hood terrorist · American Wire News (opens American Wire News in a new tab)
American Wire News — is American Wire News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Sit This One Out, Lady: Hillary Clinton Is Aghast That America Is Publicly Executing a Terrorist (opens Twitchy in a new tab)
Twitchy — is Twitchy biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Hollywood Celebrities Denounce Pentagon Plan to Livestream Fort Hood Shooter Execution (opens Breitbart in a new tab)
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
