US man gets wrongly identified as killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO, receives death threats
Image from the viral post.
In a shocking incident, a man living in the United States disclosed how he started receiving death threats on social media platforms because of a viral post in which he was wrongly identified as the killer of CEO ofUnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson.
A picture of the man was shared on X along with the suspect's image and the caption read, “Possible match for the United Healthcare CEO assassin identified! Do you recognise this person?!”
Sharing the post, political analyst Joey Mannarino wrote on X, “How is this allowed? This can get me killed.” The post received more than 19.4 million views.
Clarifying the post, the readers said, “Incorrect claim. The picture on the right is Joey Mannarino, who is not a suspect.”
Mannarino, in a follow-up post, highlighted the situation's gravity and how he has been getting threatening messages.
“Due to this post, I'm receiving death threats like this one below from @smoking539675 in my inbox. This is not normalnor is this something someone should deal withas it puts my family and myself at risk. Someone must be held to account,” Mannarino wrote.
Later, he shared another screenshot that had warnings. He said that the post on X in which he was blamed for killing theCEO received more than 13,000,000 views so far. "About to write my own version of “If I Did It…” like OJ did!" he said.
Netizens react to Mannarino's post
Reacting to Mannarino's post on X, people extended their support for the man. Some netizens called it "depraved" and "dangerous".
Watch:UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder: Manhunt Underway For Gunman
“He thinks just because his account is satire he can do whatever he wants. This is in poor taste and could potentially be dangerous for you,” said one user.
“This is how big problems start—false accusations can ruin lives," commented another user. “Unacceptable on every level,” wrote a third user.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan on December 4, andthe New York police called it a “brazen, targeted attack.”
(With inputs from agencies)