A U.S. health insurance company CEO's murder has sparked a torrent of online misinformation and calls for violence against other executives, suggesting a failure of social media moderation that analysts fear could translate into real-world harms.
The posts, allowed to spread unfettered across tech platforms, came in the wake of the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York on December 4 and lay bare a Wild West internet landscape that is largely bereft of guardrails.
"As much disagreement as there is about what content, if any, should be moderated -- at the top of most peoples' list would be 'explicit threats of violence,'" Jonathan Nagler, co-director of New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics, told AFP. "So seeing posts on social media that explicitly encourage violence against anyone including CEOs of health insurance firms, suggests that content moderation has failed."
Further exemplifying that failure, disinformation security company Cyabra identified hundreds of accounts across the Elon Musk-owned X and Meta-owned Facebook that spread a host of conspiracy theories related to the murder.
They included the unfounded claim that Thompson's wife was involved in the killing as the couple was experiencing relationship issues.
Other posts baselessly claimed that former House speaker Nancy Pelosi was behind the murder.
Many of these narratives were amplified by prominent influencers on X such as the conservative commentator Matt Wallace, with some of them garnering hundreds of millions of views, Cyabra said.
In another falsehood identified by the misinformation watchdog NewsGuard, a video swirling online purportedly showed Thompson admitting that he worked with Pelosi.
But it was an old video from 2012 and the man was another Brian Thompson, who was forced to clarify on X that he was not the UnitedHealthcare chief executive.
In a validation of the old axiom that a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes, his X post drew only around 150 views while the posts advancing the false claim garnered hundreds of thousands.
Thompson's murder has unleashed pent-up anger towards the nation's health insurance companies, which patients and advocacy groups say fail to provide affordable care.
Many comments taking aim at the medical system quickly spiraled into targeted threats against high-profile CEOs.
Hashtags such as "CEO Assassin" gained traction and multiple posts aimed at health insurance providers brazenly asked: "Who's next after Brian Thompson?"
One post targeting insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield said: "Let your CEO know... you're next!!!"
Similar posts took aim at Humana's CEO Jim Rechtin and Andrew Witty from the UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of Thompson's firm.
"The danger here is clear: unchecked hate and disinformation online have the potential to spill over into real-world violence," Dan Brahmy, chief executive of Cyabra, told AFP.
The companies did not respond to AFP when asked how they were dealing with the threats ricocheting online.
With the elevated risk, U.S. corporations are increasing security personnel at offices and residences of senior executives, many of whom have been asked to delete their digital footprints, US media reported.
Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, who is accused of Thompson's murder, has been widely lionized online.
Brahmy said this demonstrated the "alarming power of unmoderated social media" to amplify violent narratives.
Social media content moderation has emerged as a political lightning rod in the United States, with many conservatives calling it "censorship" under the guise of fighting misinformation.
Platforms such as X have gutted trust and safety teams and scaled back moderation, making it what researchers call a hotbed for misinformation and hate.
"As platforms grapple with moderation challenges, it's imperative for companies, governments, and users alike to remain vigilant against the disproportionate influence of bad actors, who exploit social tensions to manipulate public perceptions and conversations," Brahmy said.
© 2024 AFP
27 Comments
Login to comment
Tokyo Guy
Genie's been out of the bottle far too long now. The internet is nothing more and nothing less than an extension of human nature: where (like the saying goes) a lie gets half way around the world before the truth has had time to put its pants on, and where it takes far longer to disprove misinformation than it does to spread it.
The internet is us. And that says a lot about us.
itsonlyrocknroll
It's the sheer animosity, towards the cynical despicable greed associated with U.S. health insurance industries overwhelming failure for any respect to a basic responsibility for a shred of human kindness, that takes the breath away.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson murder gunned down in New York on December 4 is testimony to a section of society so incensed that any sympathy for the family has evaporated.
MilesTeg
People BS so so does the internet. Nothing surprising. But issues with private health insurance are real. My friend let me read the terms & conditions of his private US health insurance. I gave up after page 6. The anger and frustration directed at the industry and key players are warranted.
virusrex
Musk is too busy supporting extreme right politicians in Europe to reign on disinformation and explicit threats of violence. The lack of effective moderation apparently making impossible to stop the wave of falsehoods.
nishikat
I'm fine with due process and no stupid social media. But maybe the USA should have Medicare for all? Works in Japan. I don't see the head of Medicare/Medicaid being targeted like this. It's a symptom of the US's poor healthcare COVERAGE system.
What say you Trump people. Let the courts work for this shooter and justice as they work. How about getting rid of these worthless private healthcare companies in the USA and make it Medicare for all?
dagon
Oligarchic authoritarian capital is running rampant in America (and the world) and the MSM is desperately trying to re-frame the narrative.
Look at Mayor Adams doing a spectacular perp walk of Mangione like something out of movie.
The bringing of 'terrorism' charges against Luigi.
And Gov. Hochul setting up a special hotline for worried CEOs and other oligarchs.
Some lives are more important than others and this case more than any other has exposed the US two-tier injustice system, full stop.
Tokyo Guy
Look at Mayor Adams doing a spectacular perp walk of Mangione like something out of movie.
The bringing of 'terrorism' charges against Luigi.
And Gov. Hochul setting up a special hotline for worried CEOs and other oligarchs.
I reckon these things sting certain people because they bust open the myth of Americans being "rugged individualists", when in fact many of them (I guess I should say "us", being American myself) are basically conditioned from a young age to worship money and status. So when one of the rich and/or powerful gets caught in an FAFO moment, the authorities don't know how to react, and (as we saw with the NY response) go completely overboard for their rich and powerful masters.
It is hardly even a secret that more than a few US medical insurance companies exist for the sole purpose of making tons of money by denying valid claims. This has very tangible real world consequences, and people are getting pretty sick (so to speak) of it.
The CEO's murder isn't something to be "celebrated", but it's something to be taken note of, as an example of what happens when you push too far and treat people like trash. A few sleepless nights for other super rich CEOs might just get them to start behaving like human beings rather than money-obsessed monsters.
Blacklabel
exhibit A of “threats of violence if we don’t get what we want”
exhibit B of the same.
Tokyo Guy
exhibit A of “threats of violence if **we don’t get what we want”**
exhibit B of the same.
Threats are better than actually doing it (exhibit C: January 6, 2021).
Blacklabel
But your guy Luigi did it.
and online threats had nothing to do with him doing it.
let’s not focus on that murder, that’s just “what happens to you”- moving on!
let’s blame lack of social media censorship, focusing on that was said AFTER the murder.
this is a stupid approach and even stupider article.
Tokyo Guy
exhibit A of “threats of violence if we don’t get what we want”
Coming back to this, in this case, "what we want" is "for insurance companies to behave honorably and fairly in their dealings with people who are in a vulnerable situation and who could be bankrupted if you decide to sc*ew them over to save some dollars".
I guess you don't believe in that either? "You get sick, it's your fault, don't expect no handouts, that's socialism".
Blacklabel
so simply one’s job title at a company is now enough to meet the FA part of FAFO?
just because you are CEO, but what about COO or CFO or CTO?
exactly what did this individual person with a family do to deserve the callous “that’s what happens to you, rich guy” so we gonna cheer your killer, he’s so hawt and cool, narrative?
Tokyo Guy
But your guy Luigi did it.
Yes, he did, by all accounts. And the reaction to it tells you a lot about the feelings of the average American towards health insurance companies.
The fact that the governor felt the need to set up "scaredy-cat CEO hotlines", and the mayor had to do his publicity hound stunt, tells you just how much of a nerve was hit by this act and how it's now blatantly obvious that the USA thinks a rich white man is more important than a homeless black guy (who, last I heard, didn't do anything like as much damage to as many people as Mr. Rich White Parasite).
Social media has a difficult balancing act. If they censor every anti-CEO message, they're putting themselves in the same boat as Hochul, Adams, etc. If they decide that anything goes, they're encouraging anarchy. Tough needle to thread.
TaiwanIsNotChina
How is he "our guy"? Because he wasn't completely uneducated like the average MAGA?
Blacklabel
i do believe in that.
However, I don’t believe you “lionize” the guy who shoots the CEO in the head just as a way to show your dissatisfaction.
dagon
Mayor Adams explains why he joined the Luigi Mangione perp walk.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/eric-adams-explains-why-he-joined-luigi-mangione-s-perp-walk-i-wanted-to-look-him-in-the-eye/ar-AA1weBVf?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
I see CEOs are 'traumatized'.
I wonder why even our children and innocents who are victims of horrific, mass violence only get 'thoughts and prayers.
With the exploitative and extractive US health care system as an example, this is a case of mask off for predatory late stage capitalism.
No wonder the online reaction is so orthogonal to what the corporatocracy and their bought media want you to hear.
Blacklabel
would you learn the same lesson if this happened to let’s say the CEO of an abortion clinic?
well hey that’s just what happens, FAFO, guess average Americans got a problem with abortion, ah well. Did you see how hawt that killer was?
no, right?
Blacklabel
it’s still not clear to anyone what the left thinks this individual man did to deserve this. Why him instead of say the CFO of another company?
And now you want to muddy it with race and homeless?
You did see who lit a sleeping woman on fire in the NY subway today didn’t you? Did that woman deserve that?
Blacklabel
the article:
your media:
Your polls:
Tokyo Guy
would you learn the same lesson if this happened to let’s say the CEO of an abortion clinic?
Without getting into the whole moral debate on abortion, I don't see how an abortion clinic can sc*ew someone over in the same way as an insurance company, outside of something like intentional and malicious malpractice. People who go after abortion clinics have likely never been personally affected by such a clinic. They do so on what they consider ideological grounds, and that's another topic.
I know that the trend in conservative states is to make it as hard as possible to get one, and that there are already cases of women dying as a result (which I assume the religious right finds no less delightful than this alleged rejoicing of the left over Mr. Rich White Parasite. "Shoulda kept her legs closed!" "Shouldn't have resisted!")
However, that's the fault of whoever signs the legislation into law, presumably the state's governor, and it certainly isn't any CEO of any abortion clinic; that would be self-defeating. As I understand it, doctors and surgeons in that field are fleeing red states in droves or closing their practices.
The CEO who was shot was said to have created a system to automatically deny claims, so he had direct, first hand responsibility for the consequences of doing so. After he was shot, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people coming forward to describe how his company had caused them financial (and other) crises, and it was evident that nothing short of a real shock was going to get them to think about changing their ways, let alone actually doing so.
nishikat
The courts are about justice and NOT what people think. But maybe it's a sign that we need Medicare for all? What's wrong with that?
I believe in gun control and Medicare for all. Then this would not have happened. Works well in Japan. Get rid of these worthless private health insurance companies.
Blacklabel
i sure hope you are never “said to have” done something at work.
where that is used to then jump right to you had “direct, first hand responsibility” and deserve “the consequences”.
And consequences now involve……being murdered?
Tokyo Guy
You did see who lit a sleeping woman on fire in the NY subway today didn’t you? Did that woman deserve that?
Yes, I saw it. A sick act. I also saw the comments about it, many of which boiled down to "anyone want to give odds that the perpetrator, once arrested, will get a catwalk-style perp walk with the great and good of New York in attendance?" In other words, people saw right through the exaggerated response to Mangione's actions. He shot someone - I don't think he'll even deny it - and got what seemed like half the NYPD plus assorted celebrities turning up to be seen and presumably featured in "People" magazine.
Conversely, I gather they've already arrested the perpetrator of the NY subway crime. It will be interesting to see if Mayor Adams wants to turn up to this one as well and if Gov. Hochul will set up a helpline for regular subway riders.
Blacklabel
Thats your liberal leadership. You speak as if these are people not on your side. You temp mad at them now?
Hochul, my totally safe subway!
Tokyo Guy
i sure hope you are never “said to have” done something at work.
where that is used to then jump right to you had “direct, first hand responsibility” and deserve “the consequences”.
Fair enough, that's valid. This article goes into it and it does refer to "allegations" rather than facts:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/murdered-insurance-ceo-had-deployed-175638581.html
However, what isn't in doubt is that his company had a very high rate of denial of claims and that there are many, many accounts of their cold-heartedness:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/21/healthcare-trust-accountability
It could be argued that it just happened to be this particular CEO that Mangione targeted, or he could have had a particular reason to choose the man in question. (He was also, as it happens, under suspicion of insider trading at the time he was shot. So he was hardly on the side of the angels).
nishikat
The courts are involved. It's beyond anyone's opinion. That is what they call justice. It's not about the left. I would say this is a symptom of the policies of the right since they want to continue the terrible private healthcare system of the USA. This would not have happened under Medicare for all.
dagon
I see the MAGA rep keeps on trying to pivot to 'the left', migrants, NY post Murdoch articles. The old shtick.
While the support for Luigi and animus against the health care system and capitalist inequality looks to be growing and broad-based.
This is why you get the extreme institutional reaction compared to other crimes.
How Musk and Trump are treading very carefully around this and being uncharacteristically quiet is very telling.