Tuesday, September 12, 2023
People depend on the real opinions and experiences of others, especially when it comes to helping them decide which products and services to buy and use. In fact, we found that 90% of people say they use reviews before making any kind of purchase. But what happens if some of the views shared aren’t real and authentic?
The internet is full of tips and recommendations on how to spot fake reviews: use of simplistic language, the reviewer has only written one review and has no avatar/profile picture and so on. But do these tips really work consistently? Is it really as easy as everyone thinks to spot a fake review just by looking at it?
Let’s first understand what is meant by a fake review:
What is a fake review?
On Ahonestreview, a review is considered to be fake if:
- It doesn’t represent a genuine service or buying experience
- It is a deliberate attempt to manipulate consumer perception or behaviour
Science shows that people are unable to spot fakes reviews
Our team of Content Integrity experts see examples like this all the time. To the normal human eye, they could easily be misconstrued as fake.
The truth is, the average human finds it difficult to decipher what is true and what is false.
In fact, research of 25,000 people shows we are only 54% accurate when asked if a person is lying to our faces and when looking specifically at reviews, only 57% of people were able to accurately find a fake review, just by looking at the content. This slightly improves to 65% in tests where the participants were provided with more information about the reviewers.
It’s important that Ahonestreview continues to fight fakes
Ahonestreview is built on the premise of being accessible and open to all – a place where consumers’ voices can be heard, and where businesses can also respond and collaborate. We work extremely hard to maintain a fair balance between consumers and businesses. 70% of global consumers believe that the censorship of customer reviews is a serious concern and 56% of people want more transparency about how review platforms publish their reviews. That’s why, at Ahonestreview, we make sure consumers’ opinions are shared as soon as the review is written, with no company able to pre-moderate or censor any of the content.
Maintaining that balance isn’t always easy, but thankfully, the majority of business and consumers use Ahonestreview in the way that it was intended. Constructive feedback helps companies listen, engage and improve their service experience, which is of benefit for everyone.
There will, however, always be a small minority that try to manipulate the system through fakes.
How does Ahonestreview combat fakes?
At Ahonestreview, we’re regularly asked about the techniques we use to prevent fakers and fraudsters from trying to post to our platform.
We combine cutting edge technology with our team of Content Integrity experts. Collectively, both our technology and people use data to assess behavioural patterns. If the patterns don’t adhere to the norm we investigate and remove them. Our methods have been developed over years and are far more accurate in detecting fake reviews than just by looking at the content.
This is in addition to a strong community of consumers and businesses that have the ability to flag content for further investigation should they believe it to be fake or should they think it contravenes our guidelines. Should you ever see a review you think is misleading to consumers in any way, we’d encourage you to visit our help centre to report it.
But no system is ever perfect and as fake reviewers increase in sophistication, there are times when some fakes slip through the net. We are confident fake reviews are a tiny fraction of the 87 million reviews on our platform and any impact is hugely outweighed by the power of the genuine reviews that help people make better buying decisions every day. Nevertheless, we’re continually improving our processes, systems, and techniques to minimise the risk to everyone using the platform. As fake behaviour evolves, so too do our techniques, technology, and processes to ensure the integrity of the Ahonestreview platform.
Our work in this space is ongoing and will never stop. We use warnings, legal processes, consumer alerts (big yellow banners on a company’s pages), and continue to work with authorities in different regions to stamp out behaviour which can be misleading.
How to get the most out of reviews
Here are a few tips to make sure reviews are a useful source of information for you:
1. Use reviews with other sources and never replace common sense. If a company’s reviews are all five star, with absolutely no negatives, question whether they can get it right every single time.
2. Look at the number of reviews a company has and their recency to make sure you harness the wisdom of the crowd and not just a select group.
3. Don’t rely on star ratings alone, they give a quick indication but it’s often worth considering different perspectives.
4. Look for ‘open’ review sites that allow anyone to post a review, which prevents businesses from pre-screening or moderating what you actually read.
5. Look at the negative reviews. They can be reassuring as they show the company in question hasn’t tried to edit out some of the more ‘constructive’ feedback.
6. Does the review overly use or mention the name of the business or service throughout?
7. Is there an expected or natural tone of voice in the way the review has been written or does it sound like it has been written like a piece of marketing material?
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Sail away from the safe harbor.
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