I know it is extremely common, but one thing is when you write something about (say) biking let's say titled "Biking is good for your soul" and have a nice stock photo of a "generic biker" on a mountain trail, another IMHO is if the title is:
"I’m learning to code at 56. Here’s an epic beat-down of my critical inner self."
and just after the title you put an image of a good looking fiftyish guy looking at the reader straight in the eyes, and right after it you repeat:
"I’m 56 years old and learning to code.".
Maybe it is not "intended" or done in any way in "bad faith", still it does seem like saying, "here I am, at 56, look at me".
The author clearly uses a photo of what is ostensibly themselves as their profile pic. Nothing in the article indicates "this is me."
More important: there is little if anything to be gained by this deception. The article includes self promotion, including "Connect with me on twitter" in the author byline. But this is IMO a par for the course quid-pro-quo in nearly every blog article ever written.