A Black job seeker took to Reddit to share a troubling personal experiment: after months of struggling to get interviews, he created a fake LinkedIn profile using a stock image of a white man — and was stunned by the results. Within two weeks, the fake “Corporate Catfish” profile received more responses than his real one had in three months, sparking widespread outrage online over racial bias in hiring.
In his viral post, the man described himself as a seasoned professional with a strong resume. Yet since beginning his job search in April 2025, he had only landed two interviews.
Frustrated, he decided to test a theory. “Two weeks ago, I made a ‘Corporate Catfish’ profile using a stock photo of a white man in a tuxedo,” he wrote. “I didn’t change my qualifications — just shortened my last name from ‘Kennedy’ to ‘Ken.’”
The outcome was immediate. The fake profile received two interview invites and three recruiter voicemails in just 14 days. The man, devastated, wrote: “I cannot stop crying. I hate this so much. I have served America for years, and this is what I have to deal with now.”
His experience struck a nerve, highlighting what many believe is persistent, often hidden discrimination in recruitment. The post resonated with hundreds of users, many of whom shared similar stories or condemned corporate hypocrisy.
“This is why I hate corporate culture,” one commenter said. “These companies preach diversity in public, but privately engage in racism, sexism, and ageism.”
Another added, “As bad as human bias is in hiring, algorithm-driven recruitment tools make it even worse. These systems are often trained to reflect a company’s existing workforce, which only deepens existing bias.”
The incident has reignited conversations around “corporate catfishing,” a term for job seekers — particularly people of color — who change names or photos on resumes and profiles to appear white in order to expose discrimination.
For many, the Reddit post is not just a disturbing anecdote — it’s further evidence that racial inequality remains deeply rooted in the modern workplace.
