A post on Threads claims that the conference UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was heading to when he was shot went on despite his murder.
Verdict: False
The scheduled meeting was canceled an hour after it began.
Fact Check:
In early December, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down on a New York City street as he left to go to a conference. Police eventually arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA after an employee working there tipped off authorities. He was found with guns, cash, fake ID’s and more, plus his fingerprints are said to be a match to objects found near the scene such as water bottles and energy wrappers.
A post on Threads, Instagram’s answer to Elon Musk’s X platform, claims that the meeting UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson was on his way to still went on despite his brazen murder in open daylight. The post tells readers that they are not the “main character” and they should work less, implying that no company you work for cares about you.
This is false, however. The post provides no evidence that the Investor Conference, which was to be held at the New York Hilton Hotel Midtown, actually went on. While the exact time conference organizers found out about the murder is unknown, sources told CBS News that the scheduled livestream of the event at 8 a.m. was cancelled as information came out. (RELATED: Can Joe Biden Pardon Luigi Mangione?)
The 50-year-old Thompson was pronounced dead at 7:12 at Mount Sinai West Hospital, and the meeting was officially canceled hours later. UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty officially cancelled the meeting at 9:10 a.m., saying there was a “serious medical situation with one of our team members.”
UnitedHealth Group put out a statement expressing sadness and shock over Thompson’s murder. A rescheduled Investor Conference date has not been announced as of press time. This story was first reported by Lead Stories.
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