Several companies are battling negative reviews and an outpouring of support online for the suspect in the United Healthcare CEO shooting.
Luigi Mangione was arrested on Monday for the murder of CEO Brian Thompson. Mr. Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan last week, and a search continues for the suspect.
Mr. Mangione was arrested after a McDonald's employee in Altoona, Pennsylvania, contacted law enforcement.
The suspect has garnered sympathy and support online, in part due to the influence of many people who have had problems with the health insurance industry across the country.
Several products sold on Amazon have been removed from online store shelves due to the company's offensive product policies.
Police found bullets with the words “denial,” “defense,” and “resign” written on them at the crime scene. These words, similar to the title of a 2010 book about insurance claims, have appeared on products and in online conversations.
Amazon said it would remove certain products because it does not allow the sale of products that promote or incite violence or glorify hatred, violence or other forms of intolerance.
Mangione's fans also began leaving negative reviews on Yelp and Google about the McDonald's location in Altoona, Pennsylvania, calling employees “snitches” and complaining about rats in the kitchen.
A Google spokesperson said the review “violates our policies and will be removed.” Google says it will add additional protections to a location's profile to prevent more such reviews, including reviews that violate its policy of not being a real experience at the location.
Yelp has turned off comments about the McDonald's location. “Unusual activity alertWhen a popup appears in that location, users will know that this site is in the public eye. “This often means that people visit this page to post their opinions about the news.”
“While we are not taking sides on this incident, we are committed to investigating whether the content you see here reflects real customer experiences, so please be aware that we are not taking any of the content on this page. Posting has been temporarily disabled. “Recent Events,'' Yelp said in a pop-up.
In a statement to The Hill, Yelp said it received a large number of reviews on Monday and its moderators flagged unusual activity and temporarily disabled the post.
A Yelp spokesperson said in a statement that the warning “is intended to warn customers about attempts to artificially raise or lower a business's star rating after the business has received public attention. This could lead to misunderstandings and cause damage to the company.”
Updated: 6:05 p.m.
