My strategy has been to directly call out statements on LinkedIn (my only social platform) as "supportive of white supremacy culture." I don't make personal attacks or judgements, I just point out comments and phrases that dog whistle, are outright racist or just repeat GRT talking points.
I have been complimented by many people for setting a great example and engaging with toxic people in a cordial, inoffensive way. I call that out because I have worked hard for a lot of years to learn to lead with empathy and authenticity. I am incredibly careful to make sure every comment I make falls within the community guidelines, doesn't break any user agreements and meets the Do's and Don'ts guide LI points to.
Apparently my account is now restricted.
My information seems to have been erased from the platform. I don’t even show up as an employee of my own company. No generic “LinkedIn User,” just nothing. I’ve been erased.
When I try to sign in I get a message that they can’t find that information.
This has now impacted my livelihood. I have been erased from LinkedIn, preventing me from communicating with recruiters and the students I work with.
It was thoughtless, even stupid, of me to not download my own data from a platform I don’t own. I got caught up in thinking “maybe if I’m direct but not personal, I can convince these people making racist comments to change their mindset.” My fatal flaw is thinking I can reverse years of programming with a message exchange on social media.
The most unsettling part is that the first step in the *attempt* to recover my account process (they make no promises) was to provide close up images of the front and back of my driver’s license. What list will my PII end up on? How can I feel safe now?
I'm disgusted by the number of racist comments I report, which are always met with "this doesn't violate our community guidelines." But BIPOC and allies are being quashed.
President Biden said “Silence is complicity.”
I’m trying to speak out and stand up against racism and abuse. LinkedIn has never once removed a post I have flagged as harassment - and I have flagged dozens of comments harassing Black women and folks from other marginalized communities.
LinkedIn is the de facto professional networking site. Silencing me on LinkedIn has cut off my ability to connect with recruiters, hiring managers, students and mentees alike.
LinkedIn has a monopoly on professional networking and they can target and suppress messages they don’t want spread by manipulating the algorithm, as they did recently.
I don’t know what to do now.
