The dark fandom behind healthcare CEO murder suspect 1 day ago Holly Honderich & Mike Wendling BBC News They came in hoodies, they came in masks, shuffling their feet and laughing nervously while waiting for a winner to be announced.
Once Mr Mangione was arrested, these fans came to his defence.
Americans are effectively “programmed” to trust and empathise with men who look like Mr Mangione, he said.
US media has reported that Mr Mangione was arrested carrying a handwritten document that said “these parasites had it coming”.
When a doctor suggested that she try ketamine therapy, her UHC insurance would not cover the procedure, she said.
The murder suspect’s dark fandom is linked to the healthcare CEO.
a day back.
Mike and Holly Wendling.
The BBC News.
Shuffling their feet and laughing uneasily, they arrived wearing masks and hoodies as they awaited the announcement of the winner.
These young men had gathered in Washington sq\. Park to compete in a lookalike competition for the man wanted for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was killed on a sidewalk in New York City just days prior.
Journalist Talia Jane who was present said that few people showed up and that those who did thought it was a joke.
However, it highlighted the interest in a murder suspect that has dominated social media since the December 4 murder, which is fueled by repressed resentment toward America’s private health employers.
“A lot of tinder, dissatisfaction, and frustration were already present, and [this] kind of threw a match on it,” Ms. Jane stated.
And it has only gotten worse after the suspect was identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, a member of a well-known Baltimore family with Ivy League education.
A young man who was accused of shooting a father-of-two in the back on a New York City sidewalk has been hailed as a sort of folk hero in TikTok videos, memes, and group chats.
This fetishization was troubling to many observers because it was remarkably widespread and not restricted to radical parts of the internet or any political affiliation.
The governor of Pennsylvania, where Mr. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s, Josh Shapiro, stated, “We do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint.”.
“Violent justice by ideologues puts all of us in a civil society at risk. “.”.
The murder of an insurance CEO exposes underlying resentment toward the US healthcare system.
Almost immediately after Mr. Thompson was shot dead, his suspected killer was lionized online. Videos of a “CEO assassin” walking tour of New York City were shared on TikTok. Playlists devoted to the suspect began to emerge on Spotify.
These fans supported Mr. Mangione after he was taken into custody.
Through a variety of online fundraisers, anonymous donors contributed thousands of dollars to his defense at the beginning of his legal battles.
Amazon removed comparable items from their website, and Etsy was overrun with pro-Mangione clothing.
Online hate has been directed at the McDonald’s employee who is accused of turning him in, and the fast-food chain has been inundated with negative reviews.
He was even threatened with death by the Altoona, Pennsylvania, police department that made the arrest.
His appearance has been the main focus of this online response, with many calling him the “hot assassin.”.
In fact, cultural critic Blakely Thornton stated that Mr. Mangione’s appearance, which he flaunted in shirtless social media posts, is now undoubtedly a factor in the appeal.
According to him, men who resemble Mr. Mangione are essentially “programmed” to inspire trust and empathy in Americans.
“They are the main characters in our novels, films, and stories because of this. “..”.
It is not new for the public to adore attractive men who are accused of crimes; violent men, such as Jeremy Meeks and Ted Bundy, have cult followings.
However, according to Professor Tanya Horeck of Anglia Ruskin University, who specializes in true crime and digital culture, social media has greatly increased the visibility of those ideas and facilitated their dissemination.
She told the BBC that the internet has led to “a blurring of the lines between celebrity and criminality,” adding that people’s initial reaction when they see someone attractive appear in their feeds is lust rather than moral condemnation.
“There’s a ‘thirst’ vibe about Luigi Mangione,” she said.
In addition to his looks, Mr. Mangione’s online appeal is largely derived from his seeming anger towards the corporate elites and the private healthcare sector. According to the US media, Mr. Mangione was taken into custody with a handwritten document that read, “These parasites had it coming.”.
The hashtag #EatTheRich went viral following the shooting, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a non-profit extremism research organization with headquarters in New Jersey.
Variants of “FreeLuigi” have been posted on X more than 50,000 times since Mr. Mangione’s arrest, probably receiving tens of millions of impressions. According to the NCRI, the number of posts about Mr. Thompson’s murder on websites like X, Reddit, and others received more interaction than the July assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Four-fifths of the comments, according to a survey conducted by market research firm OneCliq, were critical of the healthcare system.
Over 400,000 people have followed Mr. Mangione’s X account since the shooting.
A woman in Florida was arrested after telling an insurance agent over the phone, “Delay, Deny, Depose,” and “wanted” posters of other CEOs appeared throughout New York City, suggesting that the shooting had sparked a movement against healthcare insurers. In reference to the words etched on bullet casings discovered at the murder scene, the statement “You people are next” was made.
Senior adviser at the NCRI Alex Goldenberg described the online response as a “turning point” and “a catalyst for the normalization of political violence that was once confined to extremists on the fringes.”.
In an attempt to defend the murderers and signal-boost their views, he likened the wave of comments to the online activity that follows racist mass killings. The only difference is that the comments are more widespread and occur on popular social media platforms.
He claimed, “The dynamic we are witnessing is strikingly similar to the activity on sites like 4chan, 8chan, Discord, and other shadowy areas of the internet, where mass shootings are frequently greeted with joy.”.
According to Tim Weninger, a professor of computer science at Notre Dame who specializes in social media and artificial intelligence, there is evidence that the groundswell was real and wasn’t caused by government influence movements or bots.
“People are using social media to vent their frustrations because they are angry with the healthcare industry,” he said. Supporting this suspect is their way of venting their frustrations. “..”.
According to a recent study by the health policy institute Commonwealth Fund, 17 percent of respondents stated their insurer refused to cover care that was recommended by their physician, and 45 percent of insured working-age adults reported being charged for something they believed should have been free or covered by insurance.
Evidence suggests that the shooting has caused some reflection among healthcare organizations.
“We’re all taking a step back and trying to understand what’s happening with patients and their experiences,” Caroline Roan, the chief sustainability officer at Pfizer, said at a conference in New York on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Even though they don’t agree with them, some of the people who have been demonstrating against health insurance companies for years—before internet criticism of UHC gained traction—can relate to some of the darker moods.
About Mr. Thompson’s murder, Jenn Coffey, who has been fighting to get UHC to pay for her medical bills, said, “It’s a horrific act of violence, and I absolutely condemn it no matter the motivation.”. However, the response doesn’t surprise me. “.
After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis in 2013, Ms. Coffey, 53, of Manchester, New Hampshire, developed complex regional pain syndrome, a potentially crippling neurological disorder. “My UHC insurance would not cover the procedure when a doctor recommended that she try ketamine therapy,” she said. Since then, she has joined a demonstration led by the activist collective People’s Action.
Due to her illness, Ms. Coffey was unable to continue working as an EMT. She claimed that in order to pay for the treatment herself, she had to sell the majority of her possessions and launch a crowdfunding campaign.
“I get a little normalcy. Because of the therapy, she said, “I can sit up and paint or I can eat with my family.”. “I can lead a worthwhile life. “..”.
UnitedHealth Group informed the BBC that, due to privacy concerns, they were unable to comment on specific cases.
However, the victim, 50-year-old Brian Thompson, has been largely disregarded in the online discourse.
According to Blakely Thornton, “[Thompson’s death] hasn’t been covered as much because, bottom line, a person died, a person was murdered,” which is extremely depressing.
“What is still a tragedy is greatly outweighed by the public outrage over [the healthcare industry].”. “.”.
Mr. Thompson discussed initiatives to lower the cost of healthcare in his most recent LinkedIn post, but the comments were critical. The BBC’s US partner, CBS News, was able to obtain a message sent to employees this week by Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth, honoring Mr. Thompson and referring to his assassinated colleague as “one of the good guys.”.
In all honesty, he was among the most intelligent men. He was among the greatest guys, in my opinion. He will be missed by me. And I am so honored to have him as a friend,” he wrote.
One customer wrote about overcoming cancer and stating that their treatment was covered by their insurance company’s benefits. The company included this and other customer messages in the email.
According to the company, they wrote, “I’m thankful to UHC and everyone there who works within a broken system to help as many people as they can.”.
“It’s so sad that this world is so hateful,” read another message. My interactions with UHC have always been excellent. “.”.
“My heart goes out to the family and I can’t imagine what they’re having to struggle with that [killing],” stated Ms. Coffey, a UHC policyholder and patient. That this is the starting point for this argument bothers me greatly. “.
“I would much rather have sat down and spoken with him. “,”.
with Grace Dean’s additional coverage.
