Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Google has removed a flood of negative reviews targeting a McDonald restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police arrested Luigi Mangione, the suspect charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
According to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, December 11, online users bombarded the restaurant with one-star ratings and negative comments after Mangione’s arrest on Monday (December 9). State police said, Luigi Mangione was spotted eating at the Altoona McDonald’s by a customer, who alerted an employee which then contacted authorities, leading to the arrest.
The wave of negative reviews, known as “review bombing,” a phenomenon where businesses are inundated with poor ratings and negative comments stemming from political views or events unrelated to their operations.
In this case was the McDonald, where online users bombarded the restaurant with reviews referencing to the incident. Many of which criticized McDonald’s and included unrelated remarks about the healthcare industry.
Several comments took aim at McDonald’s employees, using slang terms for police informants like “rats” and “narc”. Many reviews also made an indirect reference on the healthcare industry, amplifying the negative comments within the platform.
“This location has rats in the kitchen that will make you sick and your insurance isn’t going to cover it,” one reviewer wrote.
“More like Narc-donalds … I hope obesity and heart disease are in-network in PA. Deny, defend, depose, diarrhea @ McDonald’s …” one post said, CBS News reported.
The reviews have since been taken down by Google as they violated its terms of use and additional protections have been added to ensure the integrity of the service.
“These reviews violate our policies and have been removed,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Google’s policy states that reviews must reflect genuine experiences and prohibits content posted to manipulate a business’s rating.
Despite the removal of the negative comments, the Altoona McDonald restaurant still has a total of 1,890 reviews and an overall rating of 3.6 stars. Google stated that additional safeguards were implemented to protect the integrity of its platform.
The Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO
UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot early Wednesday morning outside a Manhattan hotel by a masked assailant who appeared to be waiting for him. Police said Thompson seemed to be deliberately targeted.
UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson Killed in Targeted Shooting in New York
The suspect fled the scene and boarded a bus out of the city, triggering a five-day manhunt that ended with an arrest of Luigi Mangione at the Altoona McDonald’s restaurant.
The killing has sparked a strong online response, with thousands sharing stories of denied insurance claims, unexpected costs, and rising premiums under major health insurers, including UnitedHealthcare.
Thompson’s death has highlighted growing frustrations among Americans over the country’s healthcare system, where costs continue to rise while access to affordable care remains a challenge.
Meanwhile, Google’s swift removal of the negative reviews on McDonald highlights ongoing efforts to protect businesses and underscores the growing phenomenon of “review bombing”, where online platforms become battlegrounds for public outrage.
(Raidi/Agung)
