disinformation intensifies after the murder of the boss of a health insurance company

The assassination of the boss of a health insurance giant in the United States has triggered a torrent of disinformation and threats online, suggesting a failure of social networks to moderate content and raising fears of a potential shift of certain Internet users into violence.

At dawn on December 4, Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead in cold blood in the street in front of a hotel in New York. Very quickly, publications flourished on social networks, including criticism of health insurance, support for this crime, and even calls for violence.

«While there is disagreement about what content should be moderated, or whether there should be moderation at all, most people would put “explicit threats of violence” at the top of the list.», Explains Jonathan Nagler, professor at New York University (NYU), to AFP. “So seeing posts on social media that explicitly encourage violence against anyone, including health insurance company bosses, suggests that content moderation has failed.», he adds.

Lies and conspiracy theories

The company Cyabra, which specializes in the study of disinformation, has identified hundreds of accounts on X and Facebook, relaying conspiracy theories concerning this murder. Some go so far as to claim that Brian Thompson's wife was involved in her husband's death because of tensions in their relationship. Others declaring, without proof, that Nancy Pelosi, former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, was behind this assassination. Several influencers have also shared these theories on social networks, with hundreds of millions of views, says Cyabra.

In a video, identified as false by the organization fighting disinformation NewsGuard, a man presented as Mr. Thompson admitted to having worked with Nancy Pelosi. But in this old video from 2012, the man was actually a namesake. This Brian Thompson was subsequently forced to clarify to X that he was not the boss of UnitedHealthcare. His denial only got around 150 views, compared to several hundred thousand for the publications relaying the false information.

This murder and the comments accompanying it also highlighted the anger of the population against private health insurance in the United States, accused of regularly refusing to cover medical costs. Numerous comments targeting the American health system have thus transformed into targeted threats against high-profile bosses.

“Assassinal CEO”

Hashtags like “assassin general manager» multiplied and on several publications we could read: “Who will be the next Brian Thompson?» Some also directly threatened the CEO of insurer Humana, Jim Rechtin, and Andrew Witty of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of Mr. Thompson's company.

«The danger here is clear: unchecked hatred and misinformation online can lead to violence in the real world», warns AFP Dan Brahmy, director of the company Cyabra. Social networks, like X, have reduced their moderation teams. Decisions which, for researchers, transform them into a hotbed of disinformation and hatred.

«While platforms face several challenges to moderation, it is imperative that businesses, governments and users remain vigilant against the disproportionate influence of harmful actors, who exploit social tensions to manipulate perceptions and public conversations“, says Mr. Brahmy.