When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down on a New York City sidewalk at dawn on December 4, certain pockets of the internet rejoiced.
TikToks and tweets celebrated the alleged murderer, Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, for what some called an act of resistance against a perversely incentivized healthcare industry. Comments ranged from “I want to date him” to “I get why he did it.” Fake alibi videos flooded social media sites and won countless thumbs-up reactions. Young people in particular seemed to side with the killer, with one poll showing that 41 percent of voters aged 18–29 found his actions acceptable.
The jubilation even spilled over into real life. Recently, a DJ at a dance party projected images of Mangione onto a backdrop and quipped, “Give the people what they want!” as revelers cheered. “Free Luigi” posters and billboards popped up around the country. So many people voiced support for the alleged murderer, he’s been dubbed a “social media folk hero.”
The assassination of a CEO may reflect a legitimate rage against outsize corporate influence (Steve Bannon seems to think it does, anyway). But I wondered: Just how many New Yorkers in the real world—when they’re not hiding behind the anonymity of the internet—would actually say they support murder?
I set out on a rainy afternoon to interview my fellow humans and find out.
