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Spotting Fake Reviews
- Thread starter Wombat
- Start date
graz_lag
Major Contributor
Nice report.
Fortunately, the return policy almost all vendors offer make those reviews not so critical anymore in our purchasing process as they were in the past, that's for me at least.
Unless they are backed up with some sort of technical feedback, fact that's very rare.
- Thread Starter
- #3
In other parts of the world we don't have the US return policy. I wish we did.
How do you return a hotel stay?
I've posted this before, it's related and worth a read about how many review sites work.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928...ggers-lawsuits-underside-of-the-mattress-wars
https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928...ggers-lawsuits-underside-of-the-mattress-wars
- Thread Starter
- #6
That page flashes onto my screen and then disappears.
On Amazon, I always assume 4/5-star reviews are fake, especially for cheap products. Lots of shady sellers have schemes where they pay people to buy stuff and write gushing reviews, so the "verified purchase" tag is useless. 2/3-star reviews tend to be the most useful as they'll tell you the main failings of the product. The 1-star reviews are mostly just angry and lacking in detail ("this sucks"), often written by someone who apparently has either misunderstood what he was buying or had way too high expectations.
When it comes to hotels, the major chains are generally a safe bet. A bit boring, but you know what you'll be getting, regardless of price class.
When it comes to hotels, the major chains are generally a safe bet. A bit boring, but you know what you'll be getting, regardless of price class.
It works in Chrome and opera for me, so try another browser, or try opening it in porn mode to see if it works that way.
Same, but I'm not sure if I world have spotted as well if I didn't know one was fake, the test would have been better if you didn't know that you were making a 50 50 guess.
graz_lag
Major Contributor
Yeah, Hotels & Restaurants are the very ones I chose without checking the reviews! Too many fakes!
I try to get to my destination a little bit in advance so I can verify the overall quality by visiting the restaurants I have put in my short list.
For the hotels, as @mansr said, the major chains are OK, one keeps using these in order to get rewards on the fidelity cards ...
invaderzim
Senior Member
For products; if the fake reviews can build up the expectation bias high enough the consumer may just think the product is good.
I've gotten to where I mostly just skim the pictures. Does the food look like something I'd want to eat? Does the room look like someplace I'd want to stay? Do they have any pictures of the views from the rooms? Things like that.
Even when they aren't fake the stars and reviews get to be useless as people rate places low for the stupidest of reasons. It is a bit like the product reviews where the customer gets sent the wrong item by mistake so they give the product one star. Or the reviews that have 5 stars but say "the food wasn't very good and took a long time to get to us but we'll still be back"
That being said a quick skim of the reviews may expose a pattern that will indicate it is a good place to avoid. And some of the owners of the businesses respond and while most are "thank you for your feedback" sometimes they are more personal and really show the attitude of the owner, good or bad.
I decided to avoid a local pizza place after a customer posted a review that the person working there gave their order to someone that was clearly a friend that just stopped in and didn't make another for the paying customer. When the customer finally complained they made a new one and rushed it so it was cold so they made another. The owner responded with "We will remake it however many times it takes to make it right" And didn't even address the giving away of the order. The exact same thing has happened to us at other places in town.
The problem with reviews of food, restaurants and music and other things that are subject to highly subjective preferences is that any opinion is only meaningful if you understand (and share) the preferences of the reviewer. For example I love South Asian and South East Asian food but hate seafood , if people share those preferences and like spicy food in general then maybe a restaurant recommendation from me would be useful. Otherwise it may point you towards something you would find truly awful.
The reviews that irritate me are music and book reviews on Amazon which review vendor service, packaging etc and go off into a rant over a damaged box or something and give some brilliant book or recording a 1* review. Review the vendor if you're not happy with service.
The reviews that irritate me are music and book reviews on Amazon which review vendor service, packaging etc and go off into a rant over a damaged box or something and give some brilliant book or recording a 1* review. Review the vendor if you're not happy with service.
Hugo9000
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Well, the quiz itself was clearly fake. Look how they inserted all that flattery of me to boost my ego, preying on my vanity to make me think it was a legitimate and valuable lesson and quiz. That's a well-known technique of fraudsters, from carnival barkers to fortune tellers, to those trying to scam old people out of their life savings, and the biggest use of all, flattery to trick someone into going on a date/going home with them! haha!
A little quick analysis:
haha!
A little quick analysis:
- Let's see, attractive 'robot girl' to either appeal to lust or an appeal to my vanity in case I identify with her.
- I "outperformed the majority of people!"
- "Are you a robot?" Don't I wish? No disgusting human biology like a digestive system to worry about? Made in a clean-room/laboratory versus popped out of a biological mess with filthy fluids and odors and unpleasant noises?
- Obligatory reference to a respected institution of higher learning (and how clever to use Cornell, which is very highly ranked yet non-controversial! Also makes it seem more real, as it's so lazy to mention Harvard).
- The flattery that I'm as good as (dare I hope, better than?) an algorithm.
- Then we have a very sneaky "Have you ever wondered if you're actually an algorithm?" One, it's a stereotype of intelligent people that they're navel gazers and speculate about the nature of reality and self and consciousness, and it reinforces again the idea of my superiority of being artificial with the second reference to algorythms.
- Finally, like all bullshit, the offer to Play Again.
haha!
graz_lag
Major Contributor
RE: Restaurants. This report appeared on several newspapers:
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and...op-rated-restaurant-on-trip-advisor-1.3318770
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and...op-rated-restaurant-on-trip-advisor-1.3318770
digicidal
Major Contributor
@JJB70 - I've seen the inverse true much of the time as well. 5-star reviews which essentially state in the body "received the product fine but it broke immediately and didn't work right before that. Vendor was super responsive in refunding all my money so I'm totally happy."
Or my personal favorite: [4 star review] "This product is absolutely wonderful and all aspects of the transaction were as well. It has done everything I could expect from it, and has out lasted the warranty period by 100% so far. The only reason I rated it 4 stars is because I don't believe anything is perfect".
I hate both for similar reasons but the second one is extra "cringey" - probably because I had a professor that stated the same thing years ago.
Or my personal favorite: [4 star review] "This product is absolutely wonderful and all aspects of the transaction were as well. It has done everything I could expect from it, and has out lasted the warranty period by 100% so far. The only reason I rated it 4 stars is because I don't believe anything is perfect".
I hate both for similar reasons but the second one is extra "cringey" - probably because I had a professor that stated the same thing years ago.
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
Audio reviews would be easy to fake without ever taking the thing out of the box.
1. Intro / back story about company (taken from press kit)
2. Description of product (ditto)
3. Write a music review of 3 albums you like. Insert random adjectives about what you heard. If lacking inspiration, copy / paste from wine reviews ("fruity notes", "spicy midrange", etc.).
Done.
1. Intro / back story about company (taken from press kit)
2. Description of product (ditto)
3. Write a music review of 3 albums you like. Insert random adjectives about what you heard. If lacking inspiration, copy / paste from wine reviews ("fruity notes", "spicy midrange", etc.).
Done.
digicidal
Major Contributor
I'd be upset at you blowing the cover off my business plan... but then I realized that it's really bulletproof anyway.
After all, if there's one thing the Internet has taught me it's that subjectivists will continue searching until they find something that matches their initial expectation. That's why there's way more profit potential - objectivists require far too much documentation, and are more likely to be one-and-done purchasers. Either that or never purchasing anything at all because there's likely something about to come to market that will measure even better - so why settle?
Hugo9000
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Perhaps I'm too cynical, but I would consider the possibility that ALL of the "reviews" were fake, and the whole point of the "quiz" was to assist some company in further refining its fake review algorithms.
In my somewhat-joking (lol) earlier post, I mentioned that it was clever of them to refer to Cornell rather than the usual Harvard being trotted out (Harvard is a lazy/easy appeal, but can also be unwise as there are possibly as many famous frauds/bad politicians/criminals/scum known to have a degree from there as people that are generally admired). I wonder how many everyday people can name anyone who went to Cornell at all. So you have nearly as fine a pedigree, and very good reputation, without the potentially large drawbacks from naming Harvard. Another possibility is that Cornell was a tailored response to me, based on my personal history of having been accepted there, although I could not afford to go. There isn't much about us that isn't known these days, so it's not too far-fetched. lol Or perhaps Cornell is paying to be mentioned, and the Hugo9000 algorithm has been programmed accordingly. hahaha!
Last edited:
graz_lag
Major Contributor
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