Unveiling the Top Luigi Mangione Conspiracies: Dive into BBC Podcast’s Episode on the Meaning of 286

The latest episode of a BBC podcast delves into the conspiracy theories surrounding the Luigi Mangione case, particularly focusing on the significance of the number 286 in relation to the murder suspect.

The Mangione Trial, a series by BBC World Service that is also available on YouTube, explores the widespread interest on social media surrounding the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in New York on December 4th, 2024. The podcast discusses the ensuing manhunt and capture of Mangione, a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Following the high-profile case, various far-fetched theories have circulated on popular social media platforms, with amateur sleuths coming up with numerous speculative storylines related to the incident.

On Friday, Luigi Mangione, who was arrested on suspicion of Thompson’s murder after a five-day chase, pleaded not guilty to all charges in the federal case brought against him alleging he killed the United Healthcare CEO.

Mangione denied murder through the use of a firearm, another gun offence and two counts of stalking at Manhattan Federal Court. He faces the death penalty if found guilty. 

The 26-year-old is alleged to have fled New York after the killing; he was arrested at a McDonald’s more than 200 miles away in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The podcast, presented by Jordan Dunbar, is following the case in real-time and the new installment discusses just how credible some of the most popular conspiracy theories aired since Mangione, who has amassed a huge fan following, was brought into custody are.

Dunbar explains how the case has captured the imagination of millions across the globe, likening the weeks following Mangione’s arrest as like watching a ‘crime series or a murder mystery game play out’. 

‘Mangione denied the murder charges in court…a normal criminal process was beginning but online the theories became turbo-charged and grew in popularity and extremes – from Deep State involvement, professional assassins, fake backpacks, eyebrow length and Pokémon.’ 

David Gilbert, Disinformation Reporter at Wired magazine told the podcast that far from just being siloed to smaller, more niche platforms, the theories quickly became mainstream on places such as TikTok and Facebook – because of ongoing discontent around the US healthcare system. 

One of the conspiracy theories to have gathered the most momentum is the 286 theory. 

In the days after Mangione’s arrest, TikToker @yourtruecrimbestie published a video explaining why she claims the number is significant to the case. 

She claims: ‘There’s a repetition of the number 286. On the banner of his X profile, he has the Pokémon creature known as Breloom which is number 286 in the collection.

‘Luigi also has exactly 286 posts on X. According to somebody on Twitter, Luigi was found at a McDonald’s exactly 286 miles from the crime scene.’ 

Many others, and including @yourtruecrimbestie, also linked Proverb 286 from the bible, which reads: ‘Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways’. 

Investigating the claim that there’s 286 posts on his X account, the podcast found the theory possibly flawed, saying a manual count revealed 281 posts, while the automated count now listed 285. 

Mangione’s account being suspended could have also ‘thrown up some errors’, said producer Melanie Stewart-Smith, but concluded that it’s still possible that Mangione did indeed have 286 posts on the day he was arrested. 

X declined to comment to the BBC on the post count. 

Gilbert said people were motivated to find links because they ‘wanted to be involved in the conversation’ and would be branded a ‘genius’ who everyone else should listen to within the conspiracy theory community. 

He said: ‘You would get that kind of kudos that people crave because that kudos comes with massive dopamine hits. 

‘Because If you’re told in real life that you’re great, it equally feels good if you’re told by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people online that you’ve uncovered something that’s hidden.’

Other theories that have been put forward since Mangione’s arrest include one that suggests Mangione may have been playing his own version of Monopoly.

One sleuth, @lindsunhinged on TikTok, claimed in December that Mangione may have been intentionally plotting in adherence with common Monopoly rules – as she suggested his alleged escape into Central Park may have served as the ‘free parking’ feature of the board game.

In the boardgame, when a player rolls doubles three times with the dice, that player then is sent immediately to jail. She claims Mangione must have ‘rolled three times’ before he ultimately went to jail in real-life.

‘There is way more to come in this situation,’ she added. ‘I am so excited, I can’t wait.’

Explaining why Mangione’s case had attracted such theories online, Gilbert said it hit a nerve because many feel strongly about the US healthcare system.

He said: ‘I think underlying everything was the fact there was this anger, this latent anger around the healthcare system in the US, that people have been angry for a long time about the way that system works.’

Explaining why such theories exploded, he said: ‘The reason it became viral so quickly was because the algorithms that power social networks feed these videos to people because there’s such huge levels of engagement with them – the algorithms saw that and decided people wanted more.’ 

On Friday, Judge Margaret Garnett asked Mangione to stand and asked him if he had read the indictment regarded the crime he’s charged with.

He said: ‘I have.’ Mangione waived the public reading of the indictment and was asked to enter his plea. He said: ‘Not guilty.’

Prosecutors said they have around one terabyte of data including Mangione’s iCloud account and information from his social media accounts. The judge ordered prosecutors to hand it all over within a week.

Prosecutor Dominic Gentile said that he understood that the state trial would be going first, followed by the federal trial.

But Mangione’s lawyer said that they would now be opposing the ‘handshake’ deal with the ‘prior administration’ – apparently referring to the Biden administration – whereby the state case was first.

She said that because the death penalty was now on the table, she would be requesting the federal case go first. The judge said that both sides had to file motions as to whether prosecutors should be precluded from seeking the death penalty.

The Mangione Podcast is out now on BBC Sounds and YouTube