LinkedIn Confirms ‘Thought Leader’ Badge Now Available As In-App Purchase
You can now buy your way to influence on LinkedIn. The new badge gives any comment instant credibility, no thinking necessary.
SILICON VALLEY, CA — Professional networking platform LinkedIn announced today that users can now purchase an official “Thought Leader” badge for $19.99 per month, giving them “enhanced credibility and immediate gravitas” in comment sections worldwide.
The badge, which appears next to a user’s name in the form of a small glowing brain icon, is intended to “streamline professional influence,” according to LinkedIn’s new VP of Monetized Authenticity, Claire Duston.
“We realized that not everyone has time to earn influence through genuine insight or meaningful contribution,” Duston said. “This feature allows users to skip the slow grind of building trust and get straight to the performance part of leadership.”
Early adopters say the badge has already changed the tone of their interactions online.
“Before I had the Thought Leader badge, my comments about synergy and resilience were totally ignored,” said Kevin Holt, a mid-level sales strategist from Denver. “Now, I can just write ‘This. So much this.’ and people assume I’ve just delivered a keynote at Harvard.”
LinkedIn’s internal studies suggest the badge increases comment engagement by 240%, even when the comment in question contains no discernible thought. In one test, a verified Thought Leader commented simply “👏🔥👏” on an article about layoffs and still received 126 likes and three podcast invitations.
Executives say the feature is “part of LinkedIn’s broader vision to reward users for appearing insightful, not necessarily being insightful.”
“Authenticity is scalable now,” Duston added. “We’re proud to empower professionals to express leadership energy without the messy burden of having something to say.”
Not everyone is impressed. Critics argue that the new feature risks turning LinkedIn into what one analyst described as “a professional Renaissance fair, where everyone is dressed as a visionary.”
“This is the commodification of thought itself,” said Dr. Marianne Toller, a professor of digital communication at NYU. “When every comment looks credible, the word ‘leadership’ loses meaning. It’s like inflation, but for inspiration.”
Despite the backlash, users appear eager to adopt the new system. Within hours of launch, the “Thought Leader” badge became the platform’s most purchased premium feature.
“We’re democratizing influence,” said Duston. “If everyone is a thought leader, no one ever has to feel left behind.”
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