Lampe: Luigi Mangione memes point to “broader discontent with growing wealth inequality”

As soon as Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was caught, social media exploded with memes and Mangione became an internet sensation overnight. 

University of Michigan School of Information professor Cliff Lampe says the sensationalization of Mangione as a hero potentially shows a growing frustration around health inequality and the U.S healthcare system. 

"It's hard to interpret for every individual what these memes mean to them, but in general they seem to represent a frustration with perceived inequities in the healthcare system and to some extent a much broader discontent with growing wealth inequality," Lampe says. “Of the memes I've seen, many seemed embedded more in a type of wry class consciousness."

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Read “Luigi Mangione Has Become A Social Media Folk Hero” on Forbes. 

Cliff Lampe is a UMSI professor and the associate dean for academic affairs. Learn more about him by visiting his UMSI faculty profile. 

— Noor Hindi, UMSI public relations specialist