Customers are constantly looking for insights into which products, brands, or services they can trust before buying anything.
But we’re working for you to show how those product reviews you rely on might not be real.
“I don’t trust reviews anymore. My personal experience the reviews that I had relied on in selecting a medical provider were fake.”
After her bad experience, Kay Dean, decided to create “Fake Review Watch”, her own YouTube channel and website to help create awareness and fight back against fake online reviews.
“The public is been deceived and it’s a huge problem because consumer experiences are not matching those reviews,” Dean said.
In fact, research from Fakespot found that 42 percent of Amazon’s reviews were not real! How can you know?
“One major sign that something fishy might be going on is when you see a bunch of very positive reviews all posted on the same day. Fake reviews can be grouped together like this, so it’s better to skip them,” Samatha Gordon with CR said.
Consumer Reports said another red flag is when you see similar wording or phrasing in multiple reviews.
Several reviews from different users that have the same - “Wow, this product changed my life!” may not be authentic.
“Anyone is allowed to leave reviews on Amazon, even if they didn’t buy the product. So, look for reviews that have the verified purchase tag – this means that the reviewer actually bought the product on Amazon,” Gordon said.
CR said it may also help you to look at other reviews from the same user.
Click on their profile and if you see a pattern of five stars and similar language, those reviews may be fake or even paid!
If you’re still not sure, CR said to check Fakespot – which uses an algorithm to evaluate the quality of customer reviews. Paste a product URL into their analyzer and let your good judgment decide!