Some LinkedIn users have reported losing hundreds or even thousands of followers, likely due to a bug which has since been fixed, but the glitch has already fuelled widespread concern about the Microsoft-owned job site’s integrity.
Given the ongoing battle regarding bots and other illegitimate accounts on social media, many have wondered whether the change was a deliberate clean-up effort by LinkedIn to eliminate such accounts.
Other users expressed concerns they may have unknowingly violated policies leading to the loss in their follower count, but this now looks not to have been the case.
LinkedIn users are losing followers
Following the circulation of rumors around the internet and hours of radio silence, LinkedIn finally confirmed that it had identified a problem and resolved it, failing to add any further details about what caused the drop in follower counts.
The platform confirmed on its LinkedIn Help X account: “We heard some members may have seen a change in their connection and follower count. Our team quickly looked into this. We’re happy to report this has now been resolved.”
LinkedIn’s status page reported it became aware of the issue and started investigating at 03:00 PDT on October 22. Four hours later, it was still investigating the issue. At 10:00, seven hours after the first post, the platform confirmed, “issues with [user] follower and connection count on LinkedIn” had been resolved.
Although account functionality remained unaffected, the sudden loss of followers on a professional networking platform such as LinkedIn could have serious implications for users who rely on their profiles for business development and personal branding.
Moreover, the company has been criticized for failing to notify users of the issue on its own LinkedIn page, adding to the dissatisfaction with the service.
