(Image source from: The Economic Times)

A LinkedIn post left millions of people in shock that hinted search engine giant Google is looking to replace its Indian origin Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai.

Microsoft-owned professional networking platform posted a job opening for the CEO post of Google. Subsequently, it received scores of applications in no time from people considering that is job is extremely prestigious.

However, the job posting turned out to be fake. It was posted by Michel Rijnders, an online recruiter from the Netherlands, who later accepted that it was actually a security glitch that allows users post an official-looking job opening on any company's official LinkedIn page.

Usually, LinkedIn charges users for posting a new job opening and they need to get a premium account. But, Rijnders claims that he has been posting job openings, including a job post for a new CEO for LinkedIn, at no cost.

The latest posting seeking applications for Google CEO was spotted on July 28, 2019, and appeared like a regular posting on the platform.

It evoked mixed responses from LinkedIn users. "Applying to be CEO of Google on LinkedIn. Sundar's been doing a great job so far. $GOOG Q2 earnings were strong, so a little strange to see this opening," a user posted. To this, LinkedIn responded: "Thank you Michel Rijnders for bringing this to our attention. We've removed the posting and we're resolving the issue that allowed this post to go live. LinkedIn is a place for real people to have real conversations about their careers".

In a statement, LinkedIn said that the platform is not a place for fake jobs and it is committed to stopping fraudulent jobs from reaching members through automated technology. The platform added that the issue has was caused by a bug and has been fixed. "The issue has now been resolved. Fraudulent job postings are a clear violation of our Terms of Service," it said.

By Sowmya Sangam