McDonald’s outlet where alleged CEO killer was arrested flooded with negative Google reviews after employee tip-off

Google has stepped in to remove negative reviews of McDonald's outlets in Pennsylvania following the arrest of the suspect involved in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Reviews complained about rats

Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested at a McDonald's outlet in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee alerted the police.

According to Reuters, McDonald's became the target of "review bombing" — that is, being subjected to a barrage of negative reviews due to a political view or an incident unrelated to the actual business.

Axios reported that at least three McDonald's outlets in Altoona were affected by the barrage, with many of the reviews complaining about rats and other more explicitly calling out "snitches".

One of the reviews said, "This location has rats in the kitchen that will make you sick and your insurance isn't going to cover it".

Google: Reviews violate our policy

In response to media queries, Google said that such reviews are a violation of its policy.

According to Google's policy, reviews should reflect a "genuine experience" at a business and that content posted from multiple accounts to "manipulate" a place's rating will be removed.

Background

The attack on Thompson has garnered mix reactions from Americans, with some commending the suspect's actions, and others condemning his attack on social media.

Authorities have coined the positive reactions to the killing as "deeply disturbing", and urge members of the public to "humanize" the victim instead.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro added while he understood people's frustrations with the health-care system, Mangione is "no hero".

"Brian Thompson was a father to two. He was a husband, and he was a friend to many, and yes, he was the CEO of a health insurance company,” Shapiro said.

“In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint."

Top left image via Google Maps, right image via @pop.basetv/X