‘AI Image’ of Luigi Mangione Modeling a Shirt Appears on Shein Website

Matt Growcoot
A young man with curly dark hair smiles at the camera, wearing a white shirt with small floral prints and holding one hand behind his neck against a plain, light gray background.
A close look at his hand shows that the fingers aren’t right.

An image of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has appeared on the Shein website showing him modeling a shirt for the fashion brand’s spring/summer clothing line.

The man in the image is a dopplegänger for Mangione, who currently resides at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. It is unlikely he’s done any modeling for the Chinese clothing company so it appears the image is edited or AI-generated.

“The image in question was provided by a third-party vendor and was removed immediately upon discovery,” Shein says in a statement provided to the media. “We have stringent standards for all listings on our platform. We are conducting a thorough investigation, strengthening our monitoring processes, and will take appropriate action against the vendor in line with our policies.”

It is also unclear exactly how long the shirt has been on sale for, but social media users began noticing the image on Tuesday before TMZ ran the story yesterday.

A smiling man with short curly hair wears a white short-sleeve, button-up shirt with a small floral print, standing against a plain gray background with one hand touching his neck.

In all likelihood, the image probably is AI. His face and skin have a sheen to it common with AI and the fingers on his right hand appear to be stuck together.

“The image is low resolution, but there are a few signs that it might be AI-generated or manipulated,” Henry Ajder, a generative AI expert, tells the BBC.

“This includes the lighting and texturing of the image, particularly of the skin, as well the appearance of a blob-like artifact above the right forearm. The right hand also doesn’t appear to show typical segmentation of the fingers.”

A man with curly hair smiles while wearing a white, short-sleeved, button-up shirt with a small floral print, posing with one hand behind his neck against a plain gray background.
The item listing as it appeared on Shein. The page has since been removed.

The 27-year-old was arrested in December over the fatal shooting of Thompson. In April, he pleaded not guilty to all federal counts and is awaiting trial. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.

Despite the heinous crime he is accused of, many have rallied around Mangione, celebrating him as a hero, because of his alleged target.

While the Mangione image is low-effort, the fashion industry appears to be embracing AI technology at an alarming rate. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the brand J.Crew used AI for a series of images that look like real photos.

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