Unveiling the Dark Secrets Behind How Trends Are Really Set on LinkedIn!

Here is a little funny story to read during your next pondering on linkedin called the "Unveiling the Dark Secrets Behind How Trends Are Really Set on LinkedIn!.

It started with a notification.

"Congratulations, you’ve been endorsed for Leadership by Alex G."

Mia blinked at her phone screen, the little blue LinkedIn banner fading away as she opened the app. She hadn’t spoken to Alex in years—he was an old colleague from her first job, someone she barely remembered. And yet, there it was: an endorsement for Leadership. Not that it mattered; she had hundreds of them, most from people who’d never actually seen her lead anything.

Trending hashtags on LinkedIn update quickly, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for trending topics you can capitalize on.

#innovation – 38K followers

#management – 35K followers

#humanresources – 32K followers

#digitalmarketing – 27K followers

#technology – 26K followers

#creativity – 24,K followers

#future – 24,304,980 followers

#futurism – 23K followers

#entrepreneurship – 22K followers

#careers – 22K followers

#markets – 22K followers

#startups – 21K followers

#marketing – 20K followers

#socialmedia – 19K followers

#venturecapital – 19,K followers

#socialnetworking – 18K followers

#leanstartups – 18K followers

#branding – 17K followers

#advertisingandmarketing – 17K followers

#motivation – 15K followers

#personaldevelopment – 14K followers

#investing – 14,K followers

#jobinterviews – 14,K followers

#sustainability – 13K followers

#personalbranding – 10K followers

#education – 9K followers

#customerrelations – 8K followers

#productivity – 8K followers

#sales – 5K followers

#socialentrepreneurship – 5,K followers

As she scrolled through her feed, something felt off. LinkedIn had always been a place where people polished their images—posting articles they barely read, celebrating job promotions with inflated humility, or sharing “inspirational” quotes about hustle. But today, the posts seemed... excessive.

One after another, people were bragging about minor accomplishments as if they’d cured cancer. A guy she remembered from college had written a post about “disrupting” his local coffee shop by suggesting a new seating arrangement. Someone else declared they were “honored” to be chosen as the "Lunch Organizer" for their office team. Even worse, the comment sections were filled with exaggerated praise: “Inspirational!” “So proud of you!” “Game changer!”

Mia chuckled to herself and almost closed the app, but then she noticed something strange. All the posts had the same hashtag: #TrueLeaders.

She scrolled faster, and the hashtag was everywhere. No one was talking about anything meaningful. People were sharing mundane achievements, even outright lies, all tagged with #TrueLeaders. It felt like a parody of LinkedIn culture—a hyperinflated version of the already exaggerated self-promotion everyone engaged in. But it wasn’t a joke. These posts were getting thousands of likes, hundreds of shares, and soon, it wasn’t just her network—it was global.

Mia paused. Something was happening.

She decided to post something of her own. She opened the LinkedIn app and wrote:

"Had a productive morning. Made myself coffee. Sat down at my desk. Opened my laptop. #TrueLeaders"

She hit Post and waited, expecting maybe a few reactions from her usual network. Instead, her phone buzzed almost immediately.

"Wow, so inspiring!" "Taking control of your morning like a real leader!" "Unstoppable mindset, Mia!"

Her post exploded. Within minutes, it had thousands of reactions. Connections she barely knew were commenting, sharing, and praising her for... making coffee. She watched, bewildered, as her post spread beyond her network, catching the attention of professionals all over the world. It wasn’t just her; people were posting increasingly absurd things, and everything was going viral. #TrueLeaders had taken over LinkedIn.

The Spread

By the next morning, Mia’s feed was unrecognizable. CEOs, entrepreneurs, freelancers—everyone was posting with #TrueLeaders. The posts had become so outlandish that it was impossible to tell who was serious anymore. One man declared he’d “revolutionized” breakfast by eating oatmeal with a fork. Another woman shared how “disruptive” it was to skip her workout for the day to “focus on mindfulness.”

What had started as a joke was now a full-blown phenomenon. And the craziest part? No one seemed to care. They were all in on it. The LinkedIn world had become a parody of itself, and yet, the praise flowed endlessly. Corporate professionals were scrambling to outdo each other, posting increasingly ridiculous claims just to stay relevant. The algorithm pushed them all to the top—LinkedIn itself seemed to be feeding the chaos.

Mia's inbox was flooded with connection requests, endorsements, and interview offers. Some of the biggest names in business were commenting on her coffee post, congratulating her on her "innovative morning routine." She was baffled but fascinated. It felt like a game—a strange, surreal competition where everyone was competing to see who could post the most absurd, yet successful, self-promotion.

Then came the invitations.

The Invitation

On the third day, Mia received an email. The subject line read: “Congratulations! You’ve been selected as a Featured Speaker for the #TrueLeaders Summit.”

She stared at it, disbelief washing over her. What summit? She clicked the email, and sure enough, LinkedIn was hosting a virtual summit for the top influencers of the #TrueLeaders movement. She was invited to speak about her “morning routine success” on a panel with other viral personalities.

Mia couldn’t help but laugh. Was this real? Had the world gone mad? She clicked through to the event page and saw names she recognized—executives from major companies, famous influencers, even a few celebrity entrepreneurs. They were all in on it, all slated to speak at this bizarre event. It wasn’t just her network that had been pulled into the frenzy—it was the entire professional world. And now, LinkedIn was officially endorsing it.

She hesitated, her finger hovering over the “RSVP” button. A part of her wanted to reject it, to walk away from the insanity. But another part of her—curious, playful—wondered how far this could go. She clicked RSVP.

The Summit

The day of the summit arrived, and Mia logged into the virtual event. Thousands of people were watching, the chat scrolling so fast she could barely read it. Speakers appeared on the screen, one after another, sharing their stories about the most trivial things, yet receiving wild applause and admiration from the viewers.

The panelists before her boasted about “transforming their lives” by reorganizing their inboxes or taking shorter lunch breaks. And every time, the audience erupted in praise.

Then it was Mia’s turn.

She took a deep breath and looked into the camera. “I’m really honored to be here today to talk about my journey with #TrueLeaders,” she began, fighting to keep a straight face. “It all started with a cup of coffee.”

The audience went wild. The chat exploded with comments—“YES, COFFEE IS POWER!” “A true leader knows how to start the day right!” “Inspiration!”

Mia couldn’t believe it. They were eating it up. And as she continued, something shifted inside her. She realized that it didn’t matter what she said. The truth didn’t matter. The platform didn’t care about authenticity—just engagement, just attention.

As the applause flooded in, Mia paused. The absurdity of it all hit her. She had become part of a machine, a system that rewarded the most ridiculous, the most meaningless actions, as long as they generated clicks and shares. She wondered how many others felt the same—how many of these “leaders” knew they were playing a game but didn’t know how to stop.

“Honestly,” she said, lowering her voice, “I think we’ve all gotten a little lost here.”

The chat quieted for a moment. Mia hesitated, unsure if she should continue. But then, she saw the reactions pouring in.

"So true. We ARE lost." "Wow, Mia, thank you for saying this." "Finally, someone speaking the truth!"

It was still viral. But this time, the message was different. Mia realized that the game could be flipped. If the absurd could go viral, maybe the truth could too. She closed the summit with a simple statement:

“We don’t need to keep pretending. Maybe the real leadership isn’t about self-promotion. Maybe it’s about knowing when to stop.”

The Aftermath

The next day, Mia’s post from the summit went viral again—but for a different reason. People were sharing clips of her speech, praising her for calling out the system. A new hashtag emerged: #LeadForReal.

Suddenly, people were posting less about trivial things and more about the actual struggles they faced at work, the challenges of balancing life and career, the realities behind the polished images. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt more grounded.

LinkedIn still functioned like it always had, rewarding engagement and clicks, but Mia noticed a subtle shift. More people were talking honestly. The #TrueLeaders movement slowly faded away, replaced by posts that felt a little less artificial, a little more human.

Mia logged off one evening, feeling lighter. She hadn’t fixed LinkedIn, but maybe she’d cracked something open, even just for a moment. And that, she thought, was enough.

As she shut her laptop, her phone buzzed.

"Congratulations, you’ve been endorsed for Authenticity by Alex G."

Mia smiled and set her phone aside. This time, she didn’t bother to check her notifications.

Dear reader, thank you for taking the time to explore this story with me. I hope it sparked some thoughts or emotions. I’d love to hear your insights, interpretations, or even what surprised you the most. Your feedback means a lot, and I’m excited to continue the conversation in the comments!