Visibility is a Design Choice. It’s Time LinkedIn Made it Fair

In January 2025, something changed. LinkedIn quietly rolled out a new algorithm. Since then, thousands of users have seen their visibility collapse - some overnight. Others say they’ve never had the chance to be seen at all.

For weeks, the platform has been flooded with experiments. Women changed their profile pictures to men and saw a dramatic jump in engagement. Creators altered tone, format and even language. Many found that the more personal, reflective or community-focused their posts became, the less visible they were.

This wave of experimentation has gained momentum. It’s been picked up by The Guardian and other media outlets. But until now, there’s been nowhere to take action. No collective demands. No accountability. Just frustration, lost opportunities and rising concern.

This petition changes that.

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We’re calling on LinkedIn to take urgent action to make the feed fairer:

 • A formal process to report unexplained reach collapses and a clear commitment to investigate them

 • Transparency on how posts are categorised and ranked, including what signals are prioritised and how decisions are made

 • An independent equity audit of the algorithm and its impact on underrepresented voices

 • A public review of the design values shaping visibility, including how “quality” and “professional relevance” are defined

 • Clear guidance on what words, phrases or topics trigger suppression, with this information made publicly available

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This isn’t just about the algorithm. It’s about access.

When certain voices are consistently pushed to the margins, so are the people behind them - in hiring, investment, funding, influence and credibility. Visibility online shapes real-world outcomes.

And if we don’t question it, we replicate it.

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Who Is affected?

Anyone whose tone, content or identity falls outside traditional norms.

That includes:

 • Global majority professionals
 • Women and non-binary people
 • Disabled and neurodivergent users
 • LGBTQ+ and trans voices
 • Migrant, working-class or refugee professionals
 • Non-native English speakers
 • Creators outside the US
 • The unemployed
 • Entrepreneurs and small business owners
 • Users under 35, whose tone, formatting and content are often deprioritised

Data suggests that for a post to go viral, it must attract roughly 20% engagement from users at companies with over 10,000 employees. This disproportionately benefits large corporates - and sidelines entrepreneurs and smaller players, even though they make up the majority of LinkedIn’s user base.

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Who’s behind this petition?

This campaign was initially driven by myself (Jane Evans) and Cindy Gallop. We both launched new business ventures this year and the catastrophic drop in reach to our large follower base was something we needed to investigate. Urgently.

The experiment that started this whole gender algorithm debate wasn't designed to test gender, we already had enough empirical data to be sure of that. What we were actually testing in June was who could say what. Alongside two male colleagues we posted identical content that used ALL the words the Trump administration had banned from the NSA website, with a few banned words that we had discovered like 'goddess' and 'feminist'.

The results were stark:

 • Cindy: 0.6% reach
 • Jane: 8%
 • Matt: 143%
 • Stephen: 51%

Our findings exposed what’s known as proxy bias - when systems use seemingly neutral signals that consistently disadvantage certain voices, identities and styles.

We then connected with Samantha Katz, an impact investing advisor and founder, who explored the financial cost of invisibility - particularly how algorithmic suppression affects business growth, fundraising, and long-term opportunity.

Together, we are amplifying a collective voice that’s been asking the same question in silence:

Why aren’t we being seen?

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What signing means

By adding your name, you join a growing movement insisting on transparency, fairness and equal opportunity on LinkedIn. We will deliver this petition to LinkedIn’s leadership, work with the global media, keep you updated on progress, and provide tools to amplify the message in your network.

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Sign now - add your name 

Because fairness in the feed means fairness in opportunity.

If your voice has been lost in the noise, or if you believe in transparency, fairness and equal opportunity in the spaces where work happens, sign now.

Visibility is a design choice. Let’s make it fair.

#Fairnessinthefeed

#VisibilityforAll