Latest news with #TheMangioneTrial
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Daily Mail
The wildest conspiracy theories around the Luigi Mangione case - and whether they might actually be true
The latest episode of a BBC podcast examines the conspiracy theories surrounding the Luigi Mangione case - including how the number 286 has been linked to the murder suspect. The new release from The Mangione Trial, a BBC World Service series also airing on YouTube, looks at how social media became 'obsessed' with the dawn slaying of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in New York on December 4th 2024 - and the subsequent manhunt and arrest of University of Pennsylvania graduate Mangione. An explosion of outlandish theories have since been served up on mainstream social media platforms, with armchair detectives conjuring up hundreds of potential narratives on the case. On Friday, Luigi Mangione, who was arrested on suspicion of Thompson's murder after a five-day chase, pleaded not guilty to all charges in the federal case brought against him alleging he killed the United Healthcare CEO. Mangione denied murder through the use of a firearm, another gun offence and two counts of stalking at Manhattan Federal Court. He faces the death penalty if found guilty. The 26-year-old is alleged to have fled New York after the killing; he was arrested at a McDonald's more than 200 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The podcast, presented by Jordan Dunbar, is following the case in real-time and the new installment discusses just how credible some of the most popular conspiracy theories aired since Mangione, who has amassed a huge fan following, was brought into custody are. Host Dunbar explains how the case has captured the imagination of millions across the globe, likening the weeks following Mangione's arrest as like watching a 'crime series or a murder mystery game play out'. Many have suggested that the number 286 appears linked to the case, down to how many posts Mangione made on X, to his love of Breloom, the 286th character in the Pokemon series Killed: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a New York City hotel on December 4, 2024. Mangione (pictured at his extradition hearing from Pennsylvania in December) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Thompson 'Mangione denied the murder charges in court...a normal criminal process was beginning but online the theories became turbo-charged and grew in popularity and extremes - from Deep State involvement, professional assassins, fake backpacks, eyebrow length and Pokémon.' David Gilbert, Disinformation Reporter at Wired magazine told the podcast that far from just being siloed to smaller, more niche platforms, the theories quickly became mainstream on places such as TikTok and Facebook - because of ongoing discontent around the US healthcare system. One of the conspiracy theories to have gathered the most momentum is the 286 theory. In the days after Mangione's arrest, TikToker @yourtruecrimbestie published a video explaining why she claims the number is significant to the case. She claims: 'There's a repetition of the number 286. On the banner of his X profile, he has the Pokémon creature known as Breloom which is number 286 in the collection. 'Luigi also has exactly 286 posts on X. According to somebody on Twitter, Luigi was found at a McDonald's exactly 286 miles from the crime scene.' Podcast host Jordan Dunbar deep dives into the 286 conspiracy theory, which some conspiracy theorists say has significant meaning when it comes to the case Many others, and including @yourtruecrimbestie, also linked Proverb 286 from the bible, which reads: 'Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways'. Investigating the claim that there's 286 posts on his X account, the podcast found the theory possibly flawed, saying a manual count revealed 281 posts, while the automated count now listed 285. Mangione's account being suspended could have also 'thrown up some errors', said producer Melanie Stewart-Smith, but concluded that it's still possible that Mangione did indeed have 286 posts on the day he was arrested. X declined to comment to the BBC on the post count. Gilbert said people were motivated to find links because they 'wanted to be involved in the conversation' and would be branded a 'genius' who everyone else should listen to within the conspiracy theory community. He said: 'You would get that kind of kudos that people crave because that kudos comes with massive dopamine hits. 'Because If you're told in real life that you're great, it equally feels good if you're told by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people online that you've uncovered something that's hidden.' Other theories that have been put forward since Mangione's arrest include one that suggests Mangione may have been playing his own version of Monopoly. One sleuth, @lindsunhinged on TikTok, claimed in December that Mangione may have been intentionally plotting in adherence with common Monopoly rules - as she suggested his alleged escape into Central Park may have served as the 'free parking' feature of the board game. In the boardgame, when a player rolls doubles three times with the dice, that player then is sent immediately to jail. She claims Mangione must have 'rolled three times' before he ultimately went to jail in real-life. 'There is way more to come in this situation,' she added. 'I am so excited, I can't wait.' Explaining why Mangione's case had attracted such theories online, Gilbert said it hit a nerve because many feel strongly about the US healthcare system. He said: 'I think underlying everything was the fact there was this anger, this latent anger around the healthcare system in the US, that people have been angry for a long time about the way that system works.' Explaining why such theories exploded, he said: 'The reason it became viral so quickly was because the algorithms that power social networks feed these videos to people because there's such huge levels of engagement with them - the algorithms saw that and decided people wanted more.' On Friday, Judge Margaret Garnett asked Mangione to stand and asked him if he had read the indictment regarded the crime he's charged with. He said: 'I have.' Mangione waived the public reading of the indictment and was asked to enter his plea. He said: 'Not guilty.' Prosecutors said they have around one terabyte of data including Mangione's iCloud account and information from his social media accounts. The judge ordered prosecutors to hand it all over within a week. Prosecutor Dominic Gentile said that he understood that the state trial would be going first, followed by the federal trial. But Mangione's lawyer said that they would now be opposing the 'handshake' deal with the 'prior administration' – apparently referring to the Biden administration – whereby the state case was first. She said that because the death penalty was now on the table, she would be requesting the federal case go first. The judge said that both sides had to file motions as to whether prosecutors should be precluded from seeking the death penalty.
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Maxine Peake scrutinises a baffling law: best podcasts of the week
Pick of the week In It Together: The Joint Enterprise Podcast Despite the title, Maxine Peake's new podcast is not about political solidarity or social unity; instead, it focuses on one of the UK's most baffling, controversial and destructive laws. Joint enterprise has resulted in many people being imprisoned for serious crimes they didn't actually commit. Here, Peake speaks to activists, criminal barristers, MPs and those convicted in order to better understand the law's flaws. Rachel Aroesti Widely available, all episodes out now The Mangione Trial View image in fullscreen Conspiracy theories … Luigi Mangione appears in court for a hearing in February. Photograph: Steven Hirsch/AP New episodes of this series are being released in line with developments in the case of the alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione. The story of a six-year-old's costly medical treatment is sure to shock those who aren't au fait with the US healthcare system, while a new instalment on Wednesday examines conspiracy theories. Hannah J Davies BBC Sounds, out now; further episodes on Wednesday 30 April Uncovering Roots A new run of Zila Demirjian and Maxim Saakyan's history show dedicated to untold stories from south-west Asia and north Africa. 'It feels like stepping into a memory … or maybe a dream,' says Demirjian of Aleppo's Baron Hotel, once a cultural and social hub frequented by Agatha Christie, now abandoned and frozen in time. HJD Widely available, episodes weekly Studio Radicals View image in fullscreen Musical visions … sound engineer Marta Salogni. Photograph: Handout Marta Salogni has worked with Depeche Mode and FKA twigs, and sees herself as a translator who brings their musical visions to life. In this rich series from journalist Kate Hutchinson and audio company dCS, the record producer and other leading women in the industry dissect their creative processes. HJD Widely available, episodes weekly skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to What's On Free weekly newsletter Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday Enter your email address Sign up Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Legacy: Stalin Another series of the podcast that reappraises the lives of figures from history. Afua Hirsch and Peter Frankopan turn their attention to Joseph Stalin to ask whether we should consider more than just the bad stuff (and, well, there really is a lot of it isn't there, from gulags and purges to the millions who died during Stalin's leadership of the Soviet Union). HJD Widely available, episodes weekly from Wednesday 30 April
BBC News
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Race Across The World is back, and Self Esteem's new album: What's coming up this week
This week, Race Across the World returns to our screens, with five teams setting off from the Great Wall of that's not all the week has in Esteem's new album is out, the next series of The Mangione Trial drops on BBC Sounds, and gaming fans have Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to look forward on for what's coming up this week... Race Across the World is back Another frenetic Race Across the World starts on anyone who hasn't seen the Bafta-winning BBC One show, it offers a bird's eye (or perhaps coach window) view of five duos racing around the globe for a £20,000 phones, flights or bank cards, this year's pairs must travel more than 14,000km - starting at the Great Wall of China and finishing at Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.I've had a sneak preview of the new series, and can tell you the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. But language barriers quickly pose a is Race Across the World so popular?So who's competing this year? The teams include sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, former married couple Yin and Gaz, and teenage couple Fin and the line up, we have brothers Brian and Melvyn, and mother and son Caroline and Across the World is as much about its contestants as the race and travelling. I'm mostly excited for the inevitable moving moments, as we see the teams pushed to their absolute limits. Self Esteem is A Complicated Woman By Mark Savage, music correspondent "This album is going to get terrible reviews," Self Esteem predicted when I caught up with her last "Because people hate women doing well," she laughed. "I'm very ready for a male journalist to say it doesn't make sense, because it's a lot."That's kind of the point, though. Out on Friday, A Complicated Woman is an attempt to capture womanhood in all its complexities and contradictions – and that means moving through musical genres, modes and attitudes with almost whiplash-inducing Self Esteem, aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor, is too clever to mess it up. Her trademark wit and sincerity are firmly in place, as she talks candidly about social anxiety, crises of confidence, infantilised men, her least favourite sexual positions and being beaten down for speaking include The Curse, a stadium-sized ballad about using alcohol as an emotional crutch; and closing track The Deep Blue Okay, where she eventually finds a modicum of inner peace. Along the way, there are guest appearances from Nadine Shah, Moonchild Sanelly and even Coronation Street's Julie launched the album with a flashy West End residency last week – where fans were delighted to discover that A Complicated Woman was an uncomplicated delight. More on the Mangione trial Luigi Mangione's case went viral after he was charged with killing healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City in has pleaded not guilty to state charges, and has yet to enter a plea for separate federal on social media have celebrated the 26-year-old, and shared anger at America's private health what are the facts, and what are the conspiracies?The Mangione Trial, on BBC Sounds, aims to unpick this. The latest episode drops on Wednesday, and looks at how the US healthcare system hears from a mother who says she spent $40,000 (£30,000) on her daughter's treatment while also battling for her insurance to cover episodes will dive into what conspiracy theories are, and why people become so obsessed with them. Defying destiny in Clair Obscur and Until Dawn By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter Dark fantasy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, out Thursday for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Game Pass, quite literally caught people's eyes when it was first revealed at last year's Summer Game video games go, it's a stunner, with gorgeous art direction heavily inspired by France's 19th century Belle Époque control a crew of characters on a quest to destroy the Paintress – a being who emerges once a year and scrawls a number onto a monolith. If someone's age matches the digits, they die (hence the 33 in the title).Somehow, the 30-person team at French developer Sandfall Interactive has also managed to attract some top-tier acting talent to the role-playing game (RPG) project, including Daredevil's Charlie Cox, Gollum actor Andy Serkis, Final Fantasy XVI's Ben Starr and Baldur's Gate 3's Jennifer the thing that's arguably generated most excitement is the game's focus on old-school turn-based combat. It was a staple of classic 1990s and early 2000s RPG series such as Final Fantasy that's fallen out of fashion in the blockbuster space of late. If the studio sticks the landing with their debut title, expect to hear about Expedition 33 when Game of the Year season rolls that doesn't take your fancy, video game adaptation Until Dawn is out in cinemas on Friday. Passionate fans of the 2015 "interactive horror movie" were concerned when the first trailer revealed the film's makers had swapped the game's trademark choose-your-own-adventure device for a Happy Death Day-style time with Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F Sandberg and prolific horror writer Gary Dauberman on board, and a buzzy cast including Love, Victor star Michael Cimino and up-and-comer Ella Rubin, Until Dawn's fate isn't necessarily sealed yet. Other highlights this week Good Bad Billionaire is out on BBC Sounds on Monday, telling the story of Selena GomezMatriarch, a memoir by Tina Knowles, is out on Tuesday - I'll have an interview with her out that day tooAndor, season 2, drops on Disney+ on Tuesday (Wednesday in the UK)You, the fifth season of Netflix's thriller series, is out on ThursdayMurder on Line One, by Jeremy Vine, is published on ThursdayFlintoff, a documentary about Freddie Flintoff, is out on Disney+ on FridayThe Accountant 2 is released in cinemas on FridayJeff Goldblum's new album Still Blooming is out on Friday
