LinkedIn at a cross-roads during dark times

The scene is utter devastation –?mounds of concrete and debris fade into the horizon, covering the horrors of untold numbers of mangled bodies, the majority of them children. ?

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths (OCHA) has qualified the situation as ‘an assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope.’ The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an interim ruling that it plausibly constitutes genocide.?

To this, the LinkedIn user is provided with five choices of how to react:

Of these, 'Support' –?a hand offering a heart – comes closest to expressing the concern many would have. According to LinkedIn Help, this choice "Expresses that you empathize with someone’s experience or support them during a challenging time [, ... such as] a connection who was vulnerable about their journey in finding a new job." But given the tumultuous state of global affairs, a not insignificant number would 'support' the carnage and wish for more. (Indeed, a few have reacted to the UNRWA post with 'Funny" and 'Celebrate'). When one then ventures into the comments, masks of professional decorum are quickly removed.

A once controversy-free jobs platform, LinkedIn is now a hub for slander and even to celebrate the mass deaths of civilians and children.

What is LinkedIn in today's fluctuating social media landscape?

LinkedIn began as a distinctly professional network – a “Resume 2.0” for hiring employees and job seekers, a place to verify experience and network with colleagues and peers, a serious place of business where identities were authentic and conversations fact-based. It remained a niche player in comparison with the bigger social networks, where anonymity, social frivolity and humour, as well as trolling, hate speech and threats of violence, flourished.

And let's not ignore how much the features have improved over the years. The immersive PDF reader is solidly best-in-class. When a UN agency or other international organization wants a reliable channel to livestream an event with authentic, real-time audience interaction, LinkedIn is the go-to platform. It's been far more than a job site for some time.

The corporate mission of LinkedIn is (as they state) simple: connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. Even LinkedIn's business model has stayed above the fray: While its Silicon Valley brethren succumb to the allure of hate profiteering and the endless billions it offers, happy to sow discord and (occasionally deadly) misinformation, LinkedIn is content to take a relatively smaller slice from the perpetually well-heeled global corporate Human Resources industry.

But then the news media's favourite never-profitable social media dumpster fire became an even bigger dumpster fire under the whims of everyone's least favourite thin-skinned billionaire white supremacist and his Saudi Prince backer. Social media is in flux for the first time in years. Twitter/X's users have fled in droves in search of a troll-free safe harbour of well-intentioned interaction and a community of (CV-)authentic 'experts' who exist in the real world. It would seem they've landed on LinkedIn's shores.

LinkedIn at a cross-roads during dark times: Trusted harbour or cesspool of hate

As it now stands, LinkedIn is failing. Posts from vital humanitarian organizations such as UNRWA regularly face a torrid of slander, hate, abuse and calls for violence. When these comments are reported, LinkedIn content moderators are impressively quick to respond – only to disingenuously determine that their own community policies have not been violated, thus forcing UNRWA communications staff to wade into an open sewer as they go about their daily work of sharing updates on LinkedIn.

So how can LinkedIn turn the boat around, and once again provide a safe, life-affirming space for its growing community of professional academics, journalists, scientists, and others as mass death is widely celebrated across the platform? I don't pretend to have the answers, but here are some initial thoughts.

1. Organisations that work to save lives on the frontlines of conflict such as UNRWA deserve support and should be offered additional proactive moderation and safe-keeping staff by LinkedIn.
2. These organisations should also be offered additional functionality, including the ability to limit emoticon reactions (omitting 'Funny' and 'Celebrate' when appropriate), and potentially a banned word list.
3. A 'Concern/Concerning' emoticon could be considered in addition to the existing six. And most importantly:
4. LinkedIn policies must be enforced. They already include: Do not threaten, incite, or promote violence. LinkedIn staff should be re-trained to start enforcing these policies, Initially deleting hateful comments, and banning repeat violators.

They say trust is hard-earned and easily lost. LinkedIn is now on a precipice. Ryan Roslansky has a choice to make.