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SHEIN Posts Advertisement with Luigi Mangione Look-Alike

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SHEIN, the online fast-fashion retailer, which found itself in trouble because a product listing on its website showed what looked like Luigi Mangione (the guy accused of killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare) modelling a shirt. The listing showed a man very similar to him wearing a short-sleeved patterned button-up and the listing was live long enough to trigger social-media outrage.  SHEIN removed the image once it was noticed, and said it came from a third-party vendor and that they’re launching a full investigation and tightening their oversight. 

What makes this wild is the mix of issues it touches: the ethics of using (or uploading) an image that resembles a suspect in a high-profile murder case, the question of whether it was AI-generated or manipulated, and the bigger problem of how fast fashion platforms monitor their content/vendors. Experts pointed out small giveaways in the image (weird hand/finger shapes, lighting oddities) that made them suspect AI involvement.

https://www.complex.com/style/a/tracewilliamcowen/shein-launches-investigation-luigi-mangione-model-image

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by Apprentice (1.7k points)

This claim seems to be false. This claim explicitly states that SHEIN posted a listing with a Luigi Mangione look-alike, being the man who was accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO. In actuality, it seems to be a coincidence that the two people look very similar. First, there is absolutely no way that the model could be the actual Luigi, as according to COMPLEX, he is “currently remaining behind bars in New York.” It is speculated that the photo was artificially edited to put Mangione’s face onto the model. Unfortunately, a SHEIN spokesperson stated that the image was from a “third-party vendor,” so the information on whether the AI theory is true or not is inaccessible (ABC News). Also, ABC stated that they performed an analysis of the photo and found no evidence that the photo would be AI-edited. It is possible that the photo could be of a person who simply looks very similar to Luigi, but unfortunately, I could not find any evidence that would support either this claim or the AI claim. It is important to note that the SHEIN post has been removed and thus is inaccessible. Overall, there is no concrete evidence that the model’s resemblance to Luigi Mangione is intentional.

COMPLEX: https://www.complex.com/style/a/tracewilliamcowen/shein-launches-investigation-luigi-mangione-model-image 

ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/US/shein-launches-investigation-after-likeness-luigi-mangione-model/story?id=125219858 

False

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