A product photo on Shein briefly appeared to show the likeness of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, modelling a white, short-sleeved shirt priced under £8.
The image was swiftly removed, but not before it sparked a bigger question: was the picture real or AI-generated? According to BBC Verify, Amazon Rekognition reported a 99.9% similarity between the model's face and a courtroom image of Mangione. Visual glitches, such as an odd skin texture, a blob-like artefact above the right forearm, and unnatural finger segmentation, fueled suspicion that the picture was either AI-generated or heavily manipulated.
