In the world of social media mishaps and misunderstandings, a LinkedIn user from Singapore, Janney Hujic, recently found herself in the midst of a viral storm. Ms. Hujic claimed that a post on her encounter with former DBS CEO Piyush Gupta was actually the doing of her social media manager. This now-deleted post, containing false information, was apparently put up without her consent to attract attention. According to Ms. Hujic, her freelance social media manager based in the Philippines demanded a hefty sum of S$5,000 to remove the post and even went as far as changing the login details for the account.
The debacle began when Ms. Hujic posted on LinkedIn about a supposed meeting with the ex-banking chief at a cafe in Bali. The post, titled “A chance encounter with the ex-CEO of DBS – in the last place I expected”, detailed a brief conversation where Ms. Hujic discussed her upcoming all-women expedition in Mongolia in support of the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund. Alongside the post was a photo of Ms. Hujic with a man in a floral shirt, believed to be Mr. Gupta. However, Mr. Gupta himself swiftly debunked the claim by commenting on the post, stating, “Sorry to disillusion you. That isn’t me!”
Amidst the chaos, the man in the photo, Kumar H Subramaniam, clarified that he had informed Ms. Hujic and her friend right away about the mistaken identity. He mentioned that Ms. Hujic and her companion, claiming to have worked at DBS, approached him for a photo, and the trio joked about pulling a prank on her friends. Mr. Subramaniam also emphasized that he never consented to his picture being used for any promotional purposes. As the post gained traction and garnered widespread criticism, with many labeling it as “peak LinkedIn”, Ms. Hujic found herself at odds with the online community and facing serious repercussions.
Not really sure why this matters, but Ms. Hujic revealed that she was oblivious to the LinkedIn post initially as she was off on a cave exploration trip in Vietnam without internet access. She embarked on the trip on Monday and only managed to log back into her accounts on Saturday evening, finding herself locked out. Ms. Hujic shared screenshots of conversations between her partner and the social media manager, illustrating the demand for payment in exchange for taking down the post. She disclosed that the manager was compensated S$1 for every like on a post and had been hired in March upon a friend’s recommendation. Despite her partner making a payment to the manager, the account access remained restricted.
In the midst of the chaos, Ms. Hujic clarified her involvement in fundraising for the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund (GCTEF), a community initiative supporting people with disabilities. The organization issued a statement disassociating themselves from Ms. Hujic’s fundraising efforts through her company, Elysian Expeditions. They highlighted that Ms. Hujic and her company were not authorized fundraising partners, and the use of the GCTEF logo and fundraising messages on their website was unauthorized. Ms. Hujic mentioned applying for authorization to raise funds for GCTEF under her company’s name but failed to explain the expedition and company’s relationship. She responded to the organization’s email seeking clarification after reading it on Saturday, attempting to rectify the situation.
