Killing With Applause: Emergent Permission Structures for Murder in the Digital Age, NCRI: Network Contagion Research Institute, Eaglton Institute of Politics, Rutgers-New Brunswick, Dec. 12, 2024, 32 pp.
Executive Summary:
The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has revealed a dangerous shift in societal norms. Using social media data, AI, and social psychology survey methods, we find an evolving online “permission structure,” a framework that justifies previously unacceptable beliefs or actions with a mutually reinforcing dynamic: Social media platforms provide amplification, while psychologically susceptible individuals provide justification. Together they form an emergent system that normalizes violence.
Our data suggest that this is not simply about extremist fringe groups. These narratives are becoming popular on mainstream platforms in ways we have only previously seen on extremist platforms such as Gab or 4chan, creating widespread cultural shifts that lower moral boundaries for targeted violence against political, social, or class enemies. Our survey revealed that the more social media a person consumes, the more likely they are to believe that Mangione’s actions were at least somewhat justified.
Key Observations of a Moral Shift:
• Targeted violence is becoming normalized online and in the real world. Memes, viral content, gamification and the lionization of Luigi Mangione are constructing frameworks that endorse and legitimize violence, encouraging harassment and further acts of violence against corporate figures.
• A real-world copycat culture to attack CEOs is growing: An apparent copycat attack against a corporate leader occurred on December 17, 2024, when Nathan Mahoney, a newly hired employee of Anderson Express Inc. stabbed company president Erik Denslow during a staff meeting leaving him in critical condition. Mahoney appeared smiling in his police photographs.
A real-world copycat culture to target and harass CEOs is growing: Supporters of Luigi Mangione vandalized a former Goldman Sachs executive’s home in NYC, with phrases like "Deny, Defend, Depose" and "Free Luigi." These messages, drawn from Mangione’s rhetoric, illustrate how digital narratives endorsing violence are manifesting in real-world acts of symbolic aggression against perceived corporate elites.
Previously fringe rhetoric has migrated into the mainstream: Once confined to 4chan and Terrorgram subcultures that venerate mass shooters, the mass following of Mangione’s X account and the virality of “Free Luigi” across multiple platforms, shows that the elevation of violent actors now permeates everyday discourse.
Viral memes gamification and humor-driven content have commodified murder: Memecoins, merchandise sales, and in-person gatherings have transformed the assassination into a cultural commodity. The repeated depiction of Mangione as a heroic renegade—spread through montage edits and viral videos—fosters tacit approval for further targeted attacks.
Harassment campaigns escalating to tangible threats: By December 7th, The #EatTheRich hashtag already surged nearly 300% as compared to the previous monthly average and over 500% compared to the prior week, correlating with an increase in explicit targeting of corporate leaders. Circulating “wanted: CEO” posters and executive “hit lists” bridge online rhetoric and physical-world acts of intimidation, illustrating how digital harassment can evolve into orchestrated threat campaigns.
Conspiratorial and anti-establishment rhetoric is further eroding already low institutional trust: Viral numerology theories and allegations of planted evidence feed a conspiratorial environment that undermines institutional trust and encourages resistance to law enforcement. Popular online content now includes claims that Mangione’s arrest was staged and urges jury nullification, legitimizing interference with the justice system.
• Survey data on public opinion confirms widespread adoption of rhetoric seen online. Approximately 44% of Americans surveyed rejected the assertion that the CEO’s murder was “not at all justified”. This reflects the adoption of anti-establishment sentiments and narratives of justification that are proliferating across social media platforms.
• Our analysis confirms social media supports a digital “permission structure” for justifying murder: Authoritarian tendencies, low internal locus of control (lack of personal agency), and social media use are the strongest predictors of justification for the shooting.
• Those who justify the murder are young (78% are18-27), social media users (64% use social media 4+ hours a day) and highly authoritarian (approximately 70% are in the top quartile for this trait).
Platforms matter. Users of Bluesky score highest in justification for the murder with 78% reporting that the CEO’s killing was at least somewhat justified. Only extremist platforms such as Gab or 4chan evidenced similar levels of endorsement for the murder.
