How social mood has driven a new wave of vigilante hero worship
The world’s largest fast-fashion retailer Shein faced a media firing squad Sept. 3, after an image of Luigi Mangione — the man accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December — was used to model a shirt on their website.
The shirt itself “nearly sold out” before Mangione’s image (suspected to be A.I. generated) was taken down (Yahoo! News).
This isn’t a new trend. The maroon Merino crewneck Mangione wore at his Dec. 24 arraignment sold out “one day after his court appearance” (Yahoo! News).
And, wrote the New York Post Feb. 24: “Google searches for ’Luigi Mangione loafers’ spiked by 1,400% less than 24 hours” after he wore them to court.
From BBC:
People in the US are effectively “programmed” to trust and empathise with men who look like Mangione.
Our September 2025 Socionomist cover story “Why So Furious? How Negative Social Mood Blows the Safety Valve off Self-Control” taps into the underlying cause of Mangionemania and explains how the swelling wave of vigilante hero worship reflects the collective rage of society.
Read the complete report today, as part of the September Socionomist!