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A viral post circulating on X has falsely identified internet comedian Sam Hyde as the perpetrator in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The incident occurred on December 4, when Thompson was fatally shot in the back by a masked assailant while en route to a shareholder meeting in New York City. The brazen daylight attack triggered a five-day manhunt across the region, as reported by Fox News.
Celebrating the cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson does not make you a edgy or cool, it makes you a psychotic dipshit commie, like Taylor Lorenz. pic.twitter.com/rG5qK5svYX
— Suburban Black Man 🇺🇸 (@niceblackdude) December 10, 2024
The social media post claimed that law enforcement had identified “Samuel Hyde” as the shooter, warning the public that he was armed and dangerous. The post included what appeared to be surveillance footage of the suspect.
This claim is entirely fabricated. Law enforcement never identified Hyde as a person of interest in the case. The image shared in the post was manipulated, with Hyde’s face digitally inserted into the surveillance footage. This follows a recurring internet trend where Hyde is falsely connected to various crimes as part of a long-running meme, which Check Your Fact has previously addressed.
This is crazy. United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson assassinated. Shot in the back while walking down a public street at 6:40am.https://t.co/3oUw5yeSWG
— Ike Wingate | 🎙️Constitutional Conservative (@IkeWingate) December 4, 2024
The actual suspect in Thompson’s murder was apprehended on December 9. Luigi Mangione, 26, a graduate of an Ivy League institution, was taken into custody at a McDonald’s location in Pennsylvania. At the time of publication, he awaits court proceedings.
Lead Stories initially broke this fact-check report.
