Yes, fake online reviews really do exist…

…but why do people write them and how does that impact businesses and their consumers?

Fake reviews create scandals.

Most of us have read reports about the results of negative reviews on businesses – usually these types of news stories share when things between business owner and customer leaving the negative review escalate into drama.

But what about fake reviews?

Have you ever read a review that didn’t seem legitimate? In fact, how well do you trust online reviews at all these days?

Well-written fake reviews are hard to decipher from real reviews.

“Brushing” (submitting fake reviews) is the reason software developers are taking savvier efforts to identify fake reviewers. Website analyzers like ReviewMeta.com use AI to sniff out irregular reviews. They inform potential customers of brushing activity. 

As consumers become more aware of the fake review epidemic, they rule out businesses using unethical brushing activities.

In fact, buyers’ now hold review sites accountable for making sure fake reviewers don’t make it on to their pages at all. Most review site managers’ goals remain focused on maintaining a standard of review and reviewer veracity.

Why Do People Write Negative Fake Reviews 

Business competitors write negative fake reviews to persuade people not to purchase their rival’s products or services, which can cause catastrophic damage to a company’s reputation.

Fake negative reviews leave consumers wondering if they can trust what they’re reading online at all.

Here’s a great example: A new restaurant in Utah, Ramen Nation, recently experienced a sudden wave of negative fake online reviews. This brushing caused their Facebook rating of 4.9 to quickly drop to to a 3.7 (see the article here).

Why Do People Write Positive Fake Reviews 

As with negative fake reviews, both businesses and consumers write positive fake reviews. These reviews aim to to persuade people to purchase a product or service they have never even tried. In some cases, consumers recieved incentives to write them. As many as 80,000 people were recently recruited by a company to write these types of fake reviews.

This is not a small problem. A study from Harvard Business School shows increasing a business’s online rating by one star causes sales to jump 5 percent to 9 percent.

The Bottom Line

Fake reviews can impact businesses and consumers regardless of whether the review is positive or negative. False reviews can persuade potential clients and customers to either buy or not buy, and businesses can be hurt by the influence of negative fake reviews.

Until there are guidelines in place to lead business owners, customers, and lawmakers in the area of online reviews; it is likely to remian a problem as more and moreof our businesses are managed virtually.

More Resources!

For more information about online reviews guidelines and the art and science of online reviews, be sure to check out ReviewSociety.org.

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