ALBAWABA — Shein, a big name in fast fashion, took a men's shirt off its website after an edited picture linked the shirt to Luigi Mangioni, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
Mangioni could get the death penalty in federal court for allegedly shooting Thompson in Manhattan. Prosecutors called the act a "cold-blooded, well-planned political assassination" and said that Mangioni is still a "continuing threat," claiming that he wants to influence others and make violence seem normal for ideological reasons.
The shirt cost $11.69 and had a picture that looked like Mangioni wearing it. Shein said that a third-party seller uploaded the picture and that the item has been taken off the site.
A screenshot from the Internet Archive showed that the shirt had sold out in a few sizes before it was taken down.
Suspicions of AI Manipulation
Experts think the photo might have been made by AI or changed digitally because Amazon Rekognition found a 99.9% match between the product image and Mangioni's court photos.
What Shein Said
Shein told CNN, "We have strict rules for all the products that are shown on our platform." We are looking into the situation fully, improving our monitoring systems, and will take the right steps against the seller according to our policies.
The company's fast-fashion model, which makes thousands of new products every day, is being looked at more closely. Experts say that this volume-driven method makes it more likely that mistakes will happen, especially when third-party sellers provide pictures.
The event quickly went viral, spreading quickly on sites like Pop Crave. Mangioni's case has also made people angry again about the U.S. healthcare system and how insurance works.
Protesters have held up signs that say "Free Luigi," and Mangioni, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, has reportedly received hundreds of messages of support from people all over the world.
Legal experts say that using Mangioni's image without permission raises serious right-of-publicity issues, which give people control over how their likeness is used for business purposes.
Experts say that using a sensitive criminal case for business gain is a serious breach of professional ethics, which this case does.
