Google intervenes for McDonald's that was review bombed after UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect’s arrest
The suspect in the high-profile killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was taken into custody Monday morning at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee recognized him from NYPD-released surveillance photos. Now that McDonald's is being bombarded with negative Google reviews.
The negative comments tend to focus on saying there are "rats" in the restaurant, a not-so-subtle nod to snitching. It's part of a larger trend known as "review bombing," in which people leave reviews for everything from restaurants and stores on Yelp and Google to books on GoodReads that don't have much to do with the actual restaurant, store, or book.
"This location has rats in the kitchen that will make you sick and your insurance isn't going to cover it," one reviewer wrote, according to Axios.
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In response, Google has taken action to remove the negative reviews. "These reviews violate our policies and have been removed," a Google spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Reuters. Their policy specifies that reviews "should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business," which these reviews clearly did not. The policy states that "content that has been posted from multiple accounts to manipulate a place's rating" will be removed.
These negative reviews come from people who appear to sympathize with Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspected shooter of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
UnitedHealthcare has been at the center of a national debate regarding the American health insurance industry. According to CBS News, health insurance costs are far outpacing inflation, and Americans are paying more for healthcare than ever. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation reports that U.S. healthcare spending reached $4.5 trillion in 2022, averaging $13,493 per person.
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
