Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested as a suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Thompson was shot and killed on the street in New York on December 4th. A celebratory movement is being created around the figure of Mangione on social media which seems to escape the moderation of the platforms.
What’s happening on social media around the story of Luigi Mangione it’s strange, and perhaps complex. It all started almost immediately, as soon as the first news arrived about the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of the health insurance company UnitedHealthcare. The news of his death was celebrated by many users like a victory. As if his killer was yet another masked hero from yet another Marvel-branded film. An attention that exploded when the name of the only suspect arrived: Luigi Mangione, 26 years old. Technically now “person of interest”.
The first sign was warned on Facebook. On December 4, 2024, the online newspaper specializing in technology Gizmondo noted that the reaction most used by Facebook users under UnitedHealthcare’s condolence post was ahappy laughing emoji. From here a wave started, especially up TikTok. The social network developed in China, usually very dry about censorship, has been filled with videos that they celebrated the murder. Memes, blues songs and dedicated merchandise.
Luigi Mangione’s social profile
Amazon has blocked the sale of celebratory t-shirts. According to CBS News, the McDonald’s in Altoona where Mangione was reported and then arrested is full of negative reviews. One of the few accounts attributable to him has filled up with followers. The profile on X attributable to him, @PepMangione, has exceeded 370,000 followers. Three photos on the cover: the Pokémon Breloom (third generation), an x-ray, perhaps attributable to his spondylolisthesis and a photo of him during a trek.
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The profile had been stopped since June. The latest posts are all about the relationship between technology and mental health. A podcast on the impact of smartphones and social media, a talk by Peter Thiel and the relaunch of The Anxious Generation of Jonathan Haidtperhaps one of the most important books to come out in the last year on these topics. Then no content. Apart from a video with a countdown that is being talked about a lot.
The history of the video on YouTube
There is a video going around attributed to Mangione. A long countdown sequence just over a minute. The clock running backwards reads: “If you see this, I am already under arrest.” It says “The Truth” on it. As soon as the video ends only one message is readbottom right: “See you soon…”. Here you are. In the last few hours, news has spread that the clip was published by Mangione’s YouTube channel and that it is the prequel to a new video in which the suspected killer will reveal some new background on the US healthcare system.
It’s not like that. The video is a fake, posted by someone who he pretended to be Mangione. YouTube confirmed this to Gizmondo magazine: “We closed the channel in question for violating our rules regarding impersonation. These guidelines prohibit content intended to impersonate another person on YouTube.”
