My Top Ten Upwork Conspiracy Theories: True or False

Let’s see. There are 71 Upwork stories published on HackerNoon. If I counted correctly, the 37 Upwork stories from the previous number have my author’s signature. I’ve covered the period since 2011 before Upwork became Upwork. I’m talking about the so-called “Great Merge” when Elance and oDesk gave birth to the freelance giant known as Upwork. Does that make an Upwork expert? No. Does that make an authority in Upwork-related stories? I dare to say - Yes!

During my Upwork journey, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole more than once, which is how I came up with a dozen Upwork conspiracy theories. So, let’s see which ones turned out to be true or false.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 1 - There Is A Black Market for Upwork Freelance Accounts (TRUE)

It’s much easier than you think. You don’t even have to go to the Dark Web to get it done. It’s all there in plain sight on Google and Facebook.

Try it for yourself. All you have to do is type one of these: “buy/sell Upwork account” or “buy/sell Fiverr account.” See what happens. Hey, you can even make demands! You can choose a new freelance account or a well-established one that has been around for some time. The more reviews it has — the more you’ll have to pay for it. Suit yourself!

And, that’s not all freelance folks.

It turned out that one of my readers was a controversial IT expert — a hacker. So, one day he approached me with an “indecent proposal.” He actually wanted to help me. How? Well, he offered to change my IP address and make it possible for me to appear as if I’m a freelance writer from the USA or the UK. You name a country, he can get you a flag for your freelance account.

It goes without saying that as a “native speaker,” I would be able to charge more for my work. Of course, I said, thank you, but no thank you.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 2 - The Odds Are Mathematically and Statistically Never In Your Favor on Upwork (TRUE)

Here's what you can find on the official Upwork website when you apply filters for selecting the freelancers (it’s been a while since I took this screenshot, but I’m pretty sure things haven’t changed a lot in the meantime):

I took the liberty to highlight some of the most indicative and confusing numbers, at the same time. See for yourself. Pay attention to the number of Upwork freelancers with "no earnings yet" and "any amount earned" against their colleagues who make $10K+.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 3 - There Are Upwork Fake Review “Farms” (TRUE)

No freelancer in his right mind would've invested money in buying Upwork reviews. Right? Well, all you have to do is to type “buy Upwork reviews,” and see for yourself what happens.

I thought that this was a ridiculous thing to consider even for a minute. Then, the "Description" and "Additional Information" of the first website that sells reviews in plain sight caught my attention. As a writer, I can tell you, this is one hell of a good copy. Nicely written and structured.

Straight to the point. These guys have worked out all possible scenarios. They have covered all reasonable questions. Again, see for yourself.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 4 - At One Point, Upwork Was Posting Fake Jobs to Keep Freelancers Bidding and Spending Money on Connects (TRUE)

My fellow freelancers were the first to notice:

Some of them even made screenshots of these fake job posts:

Where’s the proof that Upwork was behind these fake jobs? Here it is:

No need to zoom in on this official Upwork explanation, apology, and refund promise. I’m quoting the most interesting parts:

We did review the jobs discussed on this thread and found that they were actually created as part of an outside course by a client teaching other clients how to use Upwork. They were posted as a "test job."

The jobs have been taken down, however, we ran into issues with Connects being refunded for them. We have been working on a solution and will make sure the Connects are refunded by end of this week.

I'd also like to reiterate that Upwork team doesn't post jobs on the marketplace without an intention to hire.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 5 - Upwork Is Suspending Six-Figure Clients On A Mass Scale (FALSE)

The so-called Upwork “whales” are every freelancer’s dream. I’m talking about six-figure spenders on Upwork. There are even seven-and-eight-figure whales, but they’re reserved for crème de la crème of the Upwork freelance elite. So, back to my freelance friend who has been swimming with the six-figure whales on Upwork successfully for quite some time.

One day, he shared a screenshot with me that got him upset.

He couldn’t submit a proposal and, thus, wasn’t able to work, because this client got suspended. At first, I didn’t understand what was all the fuss about.

My friend told me that was unthinkable for more than one reason. First, nobody kills the goose that lays the golden eggs in their right business mind. Second, after spending so much money on Upwork and hundreds of projects under your client’s belt, you know all the ins and outs of Upwork Terms, especially the no-no things that can get you in suspension trouble (temporary or permanent).

Finally, not just Upwork, but every platform would think twice about suspending a long-term client with deep pockets. You can suspend a hundred freelancers without blinking an eye because there are thousands of newbies eager to take their place. But, killing a whale on Upwork can have serious business consequences.

I did my best to sympathize with my brother in freelance arms, but my one swallow doesn't make a summer comforting line was hard to swallow for him. So, a few days later, he hit me with another screenshot:

Then, that very week came the third in a row:

I was about to unchain the situation DiCaprio-style, “You had my curiosity, now you have my attention,” but I think that

Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger is a better choice:

Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action'.

We even tried to find a pattern. My friend had a theory related to the latest price increase of Upwork Plus membership for freelancers. He thought that was the last straw that pushed some Upwork freelancers and clients to continue work outside the platform.

They violated Upwork Terms, got caught, and suspensions followed. Yet, this didn’t make sense to me. Why would a freelance membership fee increase be a client’s problem and reason for treason? After two more pieces of evidence, I finally accepted that this wasn’t a coincidence.

However, the eight “whales” times six-figure amounts they have spent, well, that’s a lot of money to “write off” just like that, even for Upwork. But, not enough for this conspiracy theory to get a green flag.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 6 - BlackRock As The Major Upwork Shareholder Is The Master of the Freelance Universe (FALSE)

BlackRock Inc. ownership in UPWK/Upwork Inc. represents 6.7 percent ownership of the company.

So, BlackRock isn’t the biggest Upwork shareholder. That’s Vanguard Group Inc. ownership with 8.46 percent ownership.

The “dynamics” of the Upwork ownership structure are worth mentioning, though:

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

Fair and square; this Upwork conspiracy theory of mine got busted.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 7 - Upwork is in Real Danger of Losing MILLIONS over ONE DOLLAR "Conversion Fee" (FALSE)

Here’s a link to the Non-Circumvention Section 7 of Upwork’s ToS.

Fun fact. I have a law degree. In Upwork’s defense, I have to say this:

• Upwork has the right to change its ToS at any given moment.
• Upwork has no obligation to inform its users each time about these changes.

Does Upwork have the “moral obligation” to inform its users about the ToS changes, especially if these changes have serious implications, to say the least? Yeah baby, yes, they have!

So, what’s the catch with Upwork’s “deafening silence?”

Something Ain’t Right - It’s Much More Than Just The Math

It seems that one Redditor is on the right track.

C’mon, you can’t be serious. It’s just one buck. What’s all the fuss about it?

Let’s say for the sake of this story, you’ve been working with a client on Upwork for quite some time. At one point, you realize that you don’t need Upwork anymore. You wish to take your work and client outside Upwork.

You may opt out of the obligations in Section 7.1 with respect to each Upwork Relationship only if the Client or Freelancer pays Upwork a Conversion Fee which is a minimum of $1,000 USD and up to $50,000 USD for each Upwork Relationship, unless Client and Freelancer have had an Upwork Relationship for at least two (2) years.

I know how it looks and sounds, but let’s be fair. You’ve found a long-term client on Upwork. You accepted Upwork Terms the moment you signed up. So, hold your freelance horses for two years, and then, you’re free to go. Or, are you, for real?

Up until the latest changes of Upwork ToS, what you and your client decided to do after two years was none of Upwork’s business. But, things changed.

If Client and Freelancer have had an Upwork Relationship for at least two (2) years, the Conversion Fee is a nominal $1 USD for administrative purposes.

No conspiracy here in this Upwork’s legal labyrinth.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 8 - Upwork Project Catalog Would Be The Death of Freelancing (FALSE)

The so-called Pre-Packaged Projects have "evolved" into the Upwork Project Catalog. So, this is no coincidence, thus, there's no need to avoid the big green elephant in our freelance room. Upwork is copying Fiverr's business model!

Upwork is trying to convince both clients and freelancers that Project Catalog is the best way to save time. Well, I think it's better to actually spend some time "negotiating" before you officially begin working on a project than clarifying and adjusting afterward.

What's even more shocking is a discovery that some Redditers have found a way to directly "import" their Fiverr gigs into Upwork's Project Catalog. At the end of our freelance days, would you be able to tell the difference between Upwork and Fiverr? This wasn't a rhetorical question.

It turned out that Upwork’s Project Catalog was the right business move.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 9 - The "Golden Million" Upwork Freelancers Theory (TRUE)

You have probably heard and read about the “Golden Billion” conspiracy theory.

The golden billion (Russian: золотой миллиард, tr. zolotoy milliard) is a term, in the Russian-speaking world, referring to the relatively wealthy people in industrially developed nations, or the West.[1] (source: wikipedia)

I used to think that the “Golden Million” Upwork freelancers plan was one of those conspiracy theories. The first time I read about it was on Twitter. One of the Upwork freelancers made a shocking claim that more than 100K user accounts were purged in one single week. In my comment to his tweet, I asked for evidence. You can’t make claims such as these without the numbers to back it up, can you?

Guess what? I got this screenshot in a reply, which I’m sharing with you here.

As you can see for yourself, more than 100K freelance accounts on Upwork simply vanished over one week.

My personal feeling is that the freelancers with “no earnings yet” were particularly vulnerable and I dare to say a “targeted” category in this purge.

I just had to do so some additional checking, and at least, compare results from more than one independent source. So, I did it.

This is a screenshot from Thinknum’s article. When you compare the dates of these two screenshots May 11th and 5th, you get close results in the number of Upwork user accounts.

Upwork Conspiracy Theory No. 10 - Upwork is The Next Wework (FALSE)

I’m fully aware that in this story about Upwork and Wework, I shouldn’t mix apples with oranges. After a successful IPO, Upwork is now a public company. Wework wasn’t that lucky. Why? What went wrong with WeWork’s IPO?

Well, long Wall Street story short, WeWork’s plan to go public raised quite a few investors’ eyebrows. That’s the thing with any IPO. You’re free to dream IPO dreams, but if potential investors say no-no, then you’re no-go.

The huge STOP sign actually did Wework a favor. A piece of Yahoo Finance news sums it up the best:

Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz’s chief economic adviser, says a startup has to ensure three key things: it can handle growth, it has the right governance system in place and it can address the “inevitable potholes” that occur with being a startup.

“WeWork failed on all three of these,” he said. “All the strength of WeWork turned into weakness, including the founder-based model.”

The investors are saved by the opening bell that never rang at the stock market for Wework. It looks like a clear win-win. The investors didn’t lose their money. Wework avoided further embarrassment. Case closed!

Here’s the current Upwork’s NASDAQ situation:

Upwork ship is shaking, but it ain’t sinking, not yet.

What is My Final Upwork Tin Foil Hat Result?

It seems that I have to call it a draw. Fair enough. Sometimes you get it right, and sometimes you don’t. I’m cool. You should be fine, as well. The worst-case scenario for you was to read some interesting stories. It ain’t that bad, is it?

What about Upwork? Well, in their line of business 50/50 isn’t a good thing. The majority of freelancers work on Upwork as if their lives depend on it because they do.