"On 5 December 2024, the New York Times ran the headline Insurance CEO Gunned Down In Manhattan. The newspaper then noted that Brian Thompson was shot in the back in Midtown Manhattan by a killer who then walked coolly away. The murder in broad daylight was indeed both cold and shocking. But many Americans had a different response: for those who had been denied health insurance or faced exorbitant healthcase costs, the news felt cathartic. Social media blew up. One post read: All jokes aside no one here is the judge of who deserves to live or die. That's the job of the AI algorithm the insurance company designed to maximize profits on your health."
"Five days later, Luigi Mangione, a good-looking, 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate with a master's in computer science, was apprehended at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He awaits trial on federal and state charges of murder, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. So who is Mangione? And what might have motivated the alleged crime? These are the questions John H Richardson attempts to answer in an investigation that explores broader themes, too. A journalist for Esquire magazine, Richardson spent years researching the groups that lurk in the dark corners of the internet, writing stories about people cursed with realistic fears about an apocalyptic future."
An insurance CEO, Brian Thompson, was shot in the back in Midtown Manhattan, with the killer walking away in broad daylight. For many Americans who faced denied coverage or exorbitant healthcare costs, the killing felt cathartic and social media erupted with posts blaming profit-driven insurance algorithms. Five days later, Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania computer-science graduate, was arrested and now faces federal and state murder charges with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. Reconstruction of Mangione's digital footprint shows a 295-book Goodreads list spanning climate change, masculinity, and personal growth, plus correspondence with influencers and many social posts; those primary sources produce an elusive, amorphous portrait that complicates motive assessment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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