Mystery gunman: Symbol of America's healthcare frustration

Lookalike contests for well-known individuals have recently become a popular trend on TikTok. People have already searched for those who resemble Timothée Chalamet, Zayn Malik, or Zendaya. In New York on 7 December, a contest was held for those resembling a man who became popular just three days earlier. No one knows exactly what he looks like.

The contest in New York sought individuals resembling the man who shot Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance company, on 4 December. As of 7 December, the man had not been apprehended, and authorities only have a few partial images of his face. The reaction of Americans to this murder may be incomprehensible unless one understands the way healthcare operates in the United States.

Across all social media platforms, from the youngest, TikTok, through the divisive Twitter, to Facebook, where mainly the older generation is active, it is difficult to find expressions of sympathy for Thompson. Instead, the killer has been met with almost unanimous understanding. Posts ironically summarising that "sympathy is not in my benefits package" gather hundreds of thousands of likes.

UnitedHealthcare, where Thompson was one of the executives, is a health insurance company that denies over 30% of claims. In the United States, only private health insurance exists, and the legal system allows for the denial of claims if objections can be found. Even insured Americans pay additional out-of-pocket expenses for treatments, often amounts beyond their financial capability.

Instead of expressions of sympathy, social media flooded with testimonies from people to whom UnitedHealthcare (or other insurers) denied life-saving treatments. There were also voices of those who lost loved ones as a result of coverage denial by insurance companies. According to Gallup Institute data, only 55% of Americans have access to adequate healthcare.

The mysterious killer has become a sort of spokesperson for the widespread anger of U.S. residents about the conditions they live under. The man engraved the words "deny," "defend," "depose" on the three bullet casings he fired with a silencer-equipped gun—referring to the legal tactics used by insurers to minimise payouts.

Other factors also enhance the popularity of the man who shot Thompson. Internet users noticed that at a New York City police press conference, there was almost a nod of approval regarding how efficiently the killer unjammed his gun after the first shot was fired. The man reportedly left the crime scene on a city bike and as of 8 December, remains elusive, even though the FBI has joined the case.

The photos released by authorities do not give a full view of the suspect's face, but even the fragments suggest he might be handsome. The first image released by the police was a frame from a hostel camera where the man allegedly stayed the day before the murder. It shows him flashing a radiant smile at the receptionist, with whom he flirted. Comments on social media indicate that "TikTok detectives," who find it hard to hide anything from, are not interested in helping authorities track him down. Comments also suggest, "sharp vision isn't in my benefits package," and "I don't feel like this man is a threat to me."

The most intriguing aspect of this situation is that even under the comments of popular YouTubers, who regularly and successfully spread far-right propaganda, something happened that seemed impossible just a week earlier. Both Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh recorded videos where they attempted to criticise the way the "far left" reacted to the news of the insurance CEO's shooting.

In the comments under those videos, viewers unanimously rejected Shapiro's and Walsh's stance. They emphasised that the problem of a profit-driven, predatory healthcare system affects all Americans, regardless of ideology and political preferences. Moreover, the way these YouTubers tried to "present" the topic proved so implausible and unacceptable that the most popular comment under Ben Shapiro's video stated, "I just realised that your entire business model relies on us, ordinary people, hating each other."