Why Gen Z turns everything – even murder – into a joke

A supporter waits outside a federal courthouse in New York ahead of a January 2026 hearing for Luigi Mangione. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura After Luigi Mangione was arrested in December 2024 in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the internet did what it often does: It turned something serious into a joke. Although Mangione has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in New York and to federal stalking charges, viral memes at the time romanticized him as a popular –…