Shein, a notable fashion company from China, announced on Thursday that it will look into ads featured on its site that used models resembling accused murderer Luigi Mangione.
“The image in question was supplied by a third-party vendor and was promptly deleted once we found out,” Shein mentioned in a statement.
“We have strict standards for all listings on our platform. This will lead to thorough investigations, improvements in our monitoring process, and appropriate actions against vendors if needed,” Shein added.
The advertisement, which showcased a white shirt for $11.69, gained attention on social media and became a trending topic by Tuesday. The company has already removed the ads.
Some internet sleuths were unsure if the low-quality photos were AI-generated or simply models who coincidentally looked like Mangione. BBC utilized AI facial recognition software, concluding that there was a 99.9% match between the images in the ads and snapshots of Mangione from court hearings.
Experts in AI suggested that the photos might be digitally generated, citing peculiar skin textures and unusual finger shapes usually seen in AI-generated images, which often have trouble rendering realistic hands.
An NBC News report noted that a men’s clothing brand, Manfinity, which is a third-party vendor for shirts, had several images that seemed AI-generated on its site. The company hasn’t commented and appeared unresponsive when contacted.
Luigi Mangione, at 27 years old, is currently imprisoned after denying charges related to the shooting of UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, who was married with two kids.
In his manifesto, Mangione claimed to have killed the executive due to high medical care costs, stating, “These parasites just came.”
As for how brands like Shein or Manfinity thought it was okay to use the likeness of confessing killers to market T-shirts, Mangione surprisingly seems to have gained a sort of folk hero status among certain groups, viewed by some as a symbol of rebellion against corporate America.
Interestingly, he seems to have garnered a following in China as well, with social media users expressing their admiration on platforms like Renote.
This popularity might stem from the transition of some American users reintroduced to TikTok earlier this year. Even as TikTok faced potential bans in the U.S., Chinese users enjoyed crafting memes and even cosplaying as defendants before American TikTok users arrived.
Reportedly, the shirts linked to Mangione were available in four sizes, three of which sold out before the ads were taken down.
