This Fake LinkedIn Profile Exposed The Racial Inequity In Hiring

Looking for a job in this economy is grueling. In Decmeber 2024, NBC recorded that the unemployment rate in the US was at 4.2%, which is alarming considering unemployment rates had never been below 5% in the 1970s or the 1980s.

The job market is slow, and it’s taking candidates several months or years to find new job opportunities. Aliyah Jones knows this experience all too well. After being out of work for several months, she launched an unemployment series on LinkedIn. The series garnered tons of attention, and Jones was inundated with DMs from people sharing similar stories until she received one message that didn’t sit well with her.

A stranger told Jones she wasn’t getting any jobs because she wasn’t corporate enough. “While they’re saying this, they’re giving me compliments, but also critiquing me by saying, ‘You need to be more corporate in order for people to see you,” she told Teen Vogue. Jones felt that this message was a microaggression.

Jones wasn’t a newbie; she had three years of experience in product design and marketing. However, after spending months applying for dozens of jobs, she still struggled to land a role. Eventually, Jones wondered if her race played a part in this and wanted to try an experiment. This is where Emily Osbourne, an AI-generated blonde-haired, blue-eyed White woman, was created.

What did Jones find when she created the fake profile?

Osbourne and Jones shared the same experience, CV, and skill sets; their only difference was their name and race. Jones spent eight months applying for the same jobs under Osbourne’s fake LinkedIn profile. What Jones found startled her.

The fake profile received interview invitations 57.9% of the time, while Jones only received 8.9%. When it came to job ghosting, Jones was more likely to be left on as Osbourne had a 1.7% response rate, compared to Jones’s 15.8%. “She [Emily] wasn’t assigned to do any assignments or case studies, meanwhile I was given a laundry list [to get the job],” Jones said.

Jones eventually ended the experiment to protect her mental health, but she received mixed reactions from her now-viral catfish investigation. Some were calling Jones unprofessional and unhinged. Whilst others praised her, “Overall, it was a positive conversation from a lot of the LinkedIn employees that have reached out to me,” she said.

We believe people with equal talent should have equal access to opportunity and ensuring our products help all our members,” a LinkedIn spokesperson told Teen Vogue.

Image: Aspen