Photo credit: bitjungle via Wikipedia
Online customer reviews influence purchase decisions more than almost anything else does. The problem is that many online reviews are fake. It’s almost impossible to know if an online review was written by a real customer, the product manufacturer, the retailer, or a hired third party. A calculated campaign to post fake reviews is called astroturfing.
Estimates on the prevalence of fake online reviews vary. A Harvard Study suggested that 15 to 30% of reviews are fake; Gartner estimated 10 to 15%.
Amazon recently filed a lawsuit accusing more than 1,000 people of offering to post fake positive reviews. The lawsuit asserts that the writers, who had accounts at Fiverr.com, a website for freelancers seeking work, were paid as little as $5 for writing glowing five-star reviews of products they never purchased or tried. Amazon sued several websites early this year for allegedly offering to churn out positive reviews, but now hopes going after the writers themselves will stem the practice.
Amazon and other services like Yelp and TripAdvisor go to great lengths to block fake reviews. They employ computer algorithms and teams of investigators to scrutinize reviews and flag and delete fraudulent posts, AP reports. For example, Yelp deleted all reviews of Movers Alliance after learning it was pressuring customers to post favorable reviews.
Retailers and review sites seldom sue review imposters, but Amazon’s legal action could be the start of a new trend as websites more aggressively protect the credibility of customer reviews.
Clear PR Ethical Considerations
Any public relations or marketing professional involved in posting or commissioning fake online customer reviews would be well-advised to reconsider their actions. Besides violating most every website’s policies, bogus reviews violate Federal Trade Commission guidelines that state that online endorsements must disclose any financial relationship.
The PRSA code of ethics states that astroturfing, defined as “engaging in the use of deceptive practices while representing front groups,” is an unethical practice. The Canadian Public Relations Society also takes a firm stance against knowingly disseminating false or misleading information.
Fake Reviewers for Hire
While fake online reviews have become more pervasive and an open secret, the practice is not new. In 2010, Todd Rutherford launched the website GettingBookReviews.com and paid writers to post positive book reviews. He found plenty of willing writers by advertising on CraigsList. Rutherford, profiled by The New York Times in 2012, commissioned a total of 4,531 reviews and, he was taking in $28,000 a month at his peak.
He told the Times, “I was creating reviews that pointed out the positive things, not the negative things. These were marketing reviews, not editorial reviews.”
The Bell Canada Case
Another unethical practice is encouraging company employees to post favorable reviews without disclosing their relationship. Canada’s Competition Bureau fined Bell Canada $1.25 million CAD, about $969,300 in U.S. dollars for persuading employees to write and post phony reviews about its apps in the App Store and Google Play.
The bureau said the company agreed to strengthen its corporate compliance program regarding employee and contractor reviews of its apps and to host a workshop to “promote, discuss and enhance Canadians’ trust in the digital economy, including the integrity of online reviews.”
In a statement to PCMag, Bell said “has never supported astroturfing and took immediate action when this incident first came to our attention last year, including making our policy clear to the entire Bell team.”
Bottom Line: Arranging to publish fake customer reviews is unethical and wrong. Amazon’s lawsuit against writers posting fake positive reviews may be a turning point in the battle against phony online reviews. PR and marketing professionals can take note of the actions of web services and regulatory agencies against fake reviews. Pushing company employees, contractors or others to write phony reviews or positive reviews without identifying their relationship can land PR pros and their organizations in very hot legal water that can result is significant fines.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
