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Post falsely links comedian to UnitedHealthcare CEO killing | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter identified as 'Samuel H. Ide'

A Dec. 5 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows an image of a man in a black T-shirt and glasses holding a rifle in a wooded clearing.

"Reports are emerging that the shooter in NYC has been identified as Samuel H. Ide, a self-proclaimed Hospital abolitionist," reads text on the image. "Samuel was reported as having over $700,000 in medical debt at the time of the assassination due to life-threatening side effects of TRT."

The post is an apparent reference to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.

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It was liked more than 5,000 times in a day.

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Our rating: False

No credible news or police reports have identified the healthcare executive's shooter as "Samuel H. Ide." The photo in the post shows comedian Sam Hyde, who has been repeatedly and falsely linked to high-profile attacks for years.

Social media users have wrongly linked comedian to shootings for years

The New York City Police Department, which is investigating the Dec. 4 shooting of Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, had not announced a suspect name or arrest as of the day the post was shared. Nor were there any other credible news or government reports by that day identifying the shooter as "Samuel H. Ide."

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Police released images Dec. 5 of an unidentified person "wanted for questioning" in connection with the homicide investigation. The search for the gunman entered its third day on Dec. 6, and a suspect name hadn't been released by late afternoon. The NYPD didn't immediately return a request for comment.

The image in the Instagram post shows comedian Sam Hyde circa 2016. Social media users have for years shared photos of Hyde in the aftermath of high-profile attacks, falsely identifying him as a suspect in such events as the Moscow concert hall attack in March and a Nashville elementary school shooting in 2023. He was also falsely identified as the "Ghost of Kyiv" in 2022, when rumors circulated online about an ace Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down six Russian jets.

Fact check: Photo shows comedian Sam Hyde, not suspect in Moscow concert hall attack

In each case, altered versions of the comedian's name were used. Hyde was called "Sam Shevchenko" in the Moscow attack, "Samantha Hyde" in the Nashville shooting, and "Samuyil Hyde" in the Ukrainian fighter pilot rumor. This trend continued in the post here identifying "Samuel H. Ide."

The Instagram post is a screenshot of an X post with the same claim. The X user who shared the post said it was "extremely fake" and a "common meme" when contacted by USA TODAY.

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The Instagram user who shared the post did not provide evidence to support the claim when contacted by USA TODAY.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sam Hyde falsely linked to UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting | Fact check

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