In June 2025, a list, titled, "27 Things I'm Grateful For," that was purportedly written by Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, spread on social media.
Multiple versions of the document circulated on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and X. They contained the same text but had different numbers written in ink at the top ("#5," "#33" and "#45"), and the signatures at the bottom also varied — one just read "Luigi Mangione" while the other two included handwritten notes thanking recipients named Josiah and Jessica.
How the documents spread
As of this writing, at least three versions of the letter could be found online, one labeled "#5," another "#33" and another marked "#45," implying a series of individualized but, ultimately, similar responses. As mentioned above, the letters varied slightly in sign-offs. Letter "#33" featured "Luigi Mangione" in a signature style, whereas letters "#5" and "#45" included messages in handwriting style.
Entertainment news outlet TMZ appeared to be the first to report on one of the letters. In a June 10, 2025, article, TMZ claimed it had "confirmed it's legit," and that it was "an electronic communication sent from MDC Brooklyn." The article linked to the letter marked "#33." However, the outlet provided no specific details on how it confirmed the document's authenticity. By June 11, TMZ had updated the article to remove the claim that the letter was "legit." As of this writing, that claim no longer appeared in the report.
Snopes contacted TMZ for clarification and will update this report if we receive a response.
Around the same time, an Instagram user with the handle @luigis_dirty_mullet posted the "#45" version of the letter (archived) that was addressed to a recipient named "Josiah" and included a handwritten note at the bottom reading: "Thanks for the birthday message. Never lose the plot, Josiah. — Luigi."
In the caption, the Instagram user insisted that the letter was authentic, writing:
Mangione's legal team has previously addressed the issue of letters attributed to him. On the defense team's official website, an FAQ section warned: "Luigi's legal team is aware of at least one AI handwriting generator and several forged letters claiming to be from Luigi via TRULINCS." The website also noted: "Currently, we do not have a method to verify the authenticity of letters or emails attributed to Luigi."
Below is an example the legal team provided of a forged letter.
(www.luigimangioneinfo.com)
The website also featured an image of a "real letter sent by Luigi."
(www.luigimangioneinfo.com)
It should be noted that the signature at the bottom of the letter above, which his legal team confirmed is an authentic communication, is different to the signature at the bottom of the letter marked "#33" that was circulating online.
While the website included examples of both verified and fake letters, it made no mention of the "27 Things" list. When Snopes reached out for confirmation, we were directed back to the general FAQ section and did not receive a specific response.
In the past, we have investigated multiple claims related to Mangione that are available in this collection.