In one particularly testy exchange on a conspiracy theories subreddit, two hair stylists clashed over Mangione’s eyebrows.
“I was a hairstylist for 20 years back in the day, no one’s eyebrows grow that fast in three days,” one user wrote. “It was on the state board test. Hair on your head grows a quarter of an inch a month. Hair on your brows grows slower.”
“I’m also a hair stylist and I work with models,” another user responded. “Different lighting and different facial expressions cause different shadows in photos. This man is trying to start a revolution. Don’t make a conspiracy out of someone who is for the people.”
This is just one of the conspiracy theories swirling around about Mangione, though. Another popular theory relates to the number 286 and its multiple links to the alleged shooter.
In his profile on X, Mangione features the Pokémon Breloom, which is the 286th Pokémon. Mangione also had posted exactly 286 times on X when he was arrested. 286 is also the code health insurance companies use when “when the appeal time limits for a health care claim are not met.”
Other users on TikTok pointed out a potential link to the Bible, with Proverbs 28:6 stating: “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”
Finally, some people online claimed the distance between the location of the shooting and the McDonald’s where Mangione was spotted is 286 miles. However, according to Google Maps, the distance is actually 279 miles.
Whatever the distance between it and Manhattan, the location of this McDonald’s has itself sparked some conspiracy theories, as seen in the work of one Reddit poster who took the time to document the many links between the board game Monopoly and the shooting.
First, they pointed out that the backpack found in Central Park by police contained money from the game. They also noted that Altoona is the home of Pennsylvania Railroad, one of four railroads for sale in the standard US version of the game. Finally, the poster highlighted the fact that McDonald’s ran a promotional campaign with the game for decades, though it was halted briefly at the beginning of the century after a massive fraud scandal involving, among dozens of others, a key insider and Gennaro “Jerry” Colombo, who claimed to be a member of the Colombo crime family.