FACT CHECK: No, UnitedHealth Group Did Not Delete Tribute Post To Brian Thompson

A post shared on X claims UnitedHealth Group deleted a Facebook post paying tribute to Brian Thompson, its CEO who was recently killed.

All-time great ratio. They pulled the post down when it got to about 21,000 laughing emojis. pic.twitter.com/EeJRjqDjBT

— Yehya Brown (@yehyabrown) December 5, 2024

Verdict: False

The post is still available at the time of writing.

Fact Check: 

Luigi Mangione, Thompson’s suspected killer, agreed to be extradited to New York, where the crime was committed, according to PBS. Mangione faces a charge of murder with an act of terrorism and authorities claim he had the murder weapon on him when he was found, the outlet reported.

An X post claims UnitedHealth Group deleted a Facebook post paying tribute to Thompson after his death when it gathered roughly 21,000 laughing emoji reactions. It shows a screenshot of the post with this number within 10 hours of posting.

“All-time great ratio. They pulled the post down when it got to about 21,000 laughing emojis,” the caption reads.

This claim is inaccurate, however. The post is still available at the time of writing, but UnitedHealth Group has made it so that the number of reactions is not able to be seen and that comments cannot be made. The same statement also remains available on the company’s X and Instagram pages. 

A Dec. 6 Buzzfeed article reported that the post garnered 71,000 laughing reactions at the time. (RELATED: Viral X Video Does Not Show Luigi Mangione Skateboarding)

This is not the first time misinformation involving UnitedHealth Group has spread online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that United Healthcare continued a meeting right after Thompson was killed.