When LinkedIn Started Selling Trust

LinkedIn is now selling visibility. What happens when professional trust becomes just another ad format?

I noticed the change this morning morning while posting an article. A small button had appeared beneath the text: Boost.

It was framed as a tool for visibility. A way to help your message reach more people. Nothing new in the world of social media. But on LinkedIn, it landed differently. This was the one platform that still felt separate from the noise, a place where your work spoke for you. A space built around reputation rather than reaction.

The premise had always been simple. You built a network through what you knew and how you contributed. People followed you because they valued your perspective, not because an algorithm was paid to place you in front of them. For years that principle held, at least in spirit. LinkedIn was not immune to influence or bias, but it still operated within a framework of earned trust.

That trust is now being sold.

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