In a move that would make such previous video game pearl-clutchers like Tipper Gore, Joe Lieberman, and Jack Thompson proud, after discovering that the suspected assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson played Among Us, NBC News has attempted to imply that his violent act was in some non-specific way, shape, or form inspired by his previous playing of the popular party game.
Per the currently official story from law enforcement and the media, on the morning of December 4th, the aforementioned Thompson was gunned down on the streets of New York City by a masked assassin.
Though the gunman managed to evade police for several days, even going so far as to taunt them by leaving a backpack filled with Monopoly money for them to find in Central Park, the suspect, now identified as one Luigi Mangione, would eventually be apprehended on December 9th after an individual in Altoona, Pensylvania, recognized him from while dining at a local McDonald’s.
Upon his arrest, authorities claimed to have found Mangione in possession of not just the very same 3D-printed gun and silencer he is believed to have used in the attack, but also multiple fake IDs (including a passport), a hand-written manifesto, and a Faraday bag, which blocks radio signals (such as those sent between a cell phone and a carrier tower) from being either sent or received by any device inside, containing a cell phone, $8,000 USD in cash, and $2,000 in various foreign currency. Notably, his supposed possession of this bag has allowed prosecutors to charge him with “criminal sophistication”, suggesting that he put a significant amount of planning and coordination into his attack.
Arraigned on December 10th, per official court documents filed with the New York City Criminal Court, Mangione is currently facing five total charges including one count of Murder in the Second Degree, two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree.
Notably, during his arraignment, Mangione denied that the aforementioned Faraday bag and its contents were his, telling the court, per CNN’s Danny Freeman, “I’d like to correct two things. First, I don’t know where any of that money came from. I’m not sure if it was planted. And also, that bag was waterproof. So I don’t know about criminal sophistication.”
“They claimed he had a faraday bag… Mangione said.. I'd like to correct two things. First, I don't know where any of that money came from. I'm not sure if it was planted. And also, that bag was waterproof. So I don't know about criminal sophistication.” pic.twitter.com/1StT60yJwn
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 10, 2024
In seeking to find whatever new scoop or information they could possibly use to draw more viewers and clicks, following Mangione’s identification, NBC News reportedly spoke to one of his former college friends who recalled to the outlet that he was once in a Discord group and also played Among Us with the suspect.
“I just found it extremely ironic that, you know, we were in this game and there could actually be a true killer among us,” the unidentified individual cheekily asserted. “As soon as his photo and name popped up on X, my friend texted me asking if I knew him, and then either I was calling some 10 friends or they were calling me. I didn’t speak to anybody today who wasn’t already aware of what had happened.”
And as soon as this reference to Among Us was dropped, it was off to the races for NBC News.
Publishing the anecdote under the headline, “Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO slaying played video game killer, friend recalls”, the outlet’s Alicia Victoria Lozano does not outright write or claim that Among Us played a part in inspiring Mangione’s attack, but she damn sure implies it did.
“Luigi Mangione, who was arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, once belonged to a group of Ivy League gamers who played assassins,” Lozano framed the story, notably attempting to be as dry in her description as possible in order to let readers’ own suspicions draw the conclusion for her. “In the game, called Among Us, some players are secretly assigned to be killers in space who perform other tasks while trying to avoid suspicion from other players.”
In describing the actual gameplay of Among Us, Lozano asserts, “The intent of the game? One member is a killer and attempts to off the other crewmates.”
“The death animations are silly and shown as someone getting stabbed in the back or having their neck snapped,” she continues. “Once a body is discovered, a crewmate reports it and a conversation ensues to deduce who the gamers think committed the crime. If they’re wrong, an innocent player will be ejected in a humorous animation of them floating off into space. If they’re right, the crewmates win. If the “killer” gets all the crewmates or gets all the innocent ones ejected, they win.”
In concluding her very brief discussion of the game, Lozano ultimately informs readers, “The game has been wildly popular, especially during the pandemic, and particularly among young children because of its simple mechanics, colorful cartoonish nature, and unpredictability. The game is so beloved by younger gamers, dressing as a “crewmate” is often a popular children’s costume at Halloween.”
As posited above, Lozano’s report is anything but ‘actual news’, and instead bears all the hallmarks of straight-up fear-mongering propaganda.
Yes, players ‘kill’ other players in Among Us, but as even she admits, the entire game is cartoonish and humorous in nature, thus drawing a very clear line between the actions in the game and their real-world inspirations.
Really, there was no other reason at all to specifically highlight the ‘killer’ aspect of Among Us – or even the general game itself, for that matter – other than to try and push readers into drawing a connection between Mangione’s suspected actions and his playing of the game.
And far from an ‘innocent mistake’, it’s clear that NBC attempted to blame the one video game mentioned throughout the entire investigation due to the ‘ease’ of which they could make that argument rather than taking aim at, say, Mangione’s reading of the Unabomber’s manifesto (which he rated a four on Goodreads).
Of course, while embarassing and eye-rolling, NBC’s swing is ultimately unsurprising, as despite society laughs at the idea of music, books, or movies being directly responsible for real-world actions, out of a weird sense of disdain and belief that the entire medium is immature, they have given themselves free-reign to hypocritically accuse video games of such a sinister influence.
At current, Mangione’s case is still developing, and more details are expected to be released to the media in the coming days.