That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake

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In this Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, file photo, the LinkedIn logo is displayed during a product announcement in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

At first glance, Renée DiResta thought the LinkedIn message seemed normal enough.

The sender, Keenan Ramsey, mentioned that they both belonged to a LinkedIn group for entrepreneurs. She punctuated her greeting with a grinning emoji before pivoting to a pitch for software.

“Quick question — have you ever considered or looked into a unified approach to message, video, and phone on any device, anywhere?”