The alleged murderer Luigi Mangione is at the centre of an unexpected phenomenon. His face appeared promoting a T-shirt on the clothing sales platform Shein. Mangione is accused of murdering Brian Thompson, an executive at UnitedHealthcare, in New York on 4 December. He is currently held in a federal prison in Brooklyn, awaiting trial, for which the death penalty has been requested.
That a young man in these circumstances could appear as a model is obviously impossible. Although Shein has not commented, various media outlets and social media users have speculated that the image may have been generated by Artificial Intelligence. Some AI detection programmes suggest this, while others simply highlight the striking resemblance between the man in the advert and Mangione.
The T-shirt advert has been removed from Shein and is no longer accessible. Nevertheless, numerous screenshots of the advert remain online. The media uproar generated by the image may have been a factor in its removal.
Mangione’s case has polarised American society. Some consider him a criminal, while others have elevated him to a media icon, even linked to criticism of health insurance companies. Luigi Mangione’s face has appeared on merchandise and in projections during concerts, which could explain the interest of the Shein seller in using his image.
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