Some of the most well-known travel and online shopping platforms have said they will work together to tackle fake reviews online. Amazon, Glassdoor, Trustpilot, Expedia Group, Booking.com and Tripadvisorannounced they are launching a coalition aimed at protecting access to “trusted consumer reviews” worldwide.
The coalition will be called the “Coalition for Trusted Reviews,” and participating companies will seek best practices for hosting reviews online and share methods for spotting fake ones. This will include developing standards for what a fake review looks like and helping users get information about how malicious users operate.
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Fake reviews have long plagued online marketplaces. Much of the problem is fueled by brokers who solicit fake customer reviews via social media platforms, encrypted messaging , and other channels in exchange for money, free items, or other benefits. Brokers can solicit either positive reviews to boost sales of specific products or negative reviews to discredit competitors and reduce their sales.
Last month, Amazon said two review brokers in China were sentenced to two and a half years in prisonfor using messaging apps to advertise and sell fake reviews on accounts . The company has filed other similar lawsuits against people who did the same. Last year, it also sued the administrators of more than 10,000 Facebook groups that coordinated reviews in exchange for money or free products.
The British consumer protection group “Which?” had also identified Facebook associated with fake reviews on Google and Trustpilot.
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Federal regulators have long been trying to crack down on fake online reviews that are designed to deceive consumers. In June, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would, among other things, prohibit businesses from selling or receiving fake reviews, suppressing real reviews and selling fake social media engagement.
The companies said the coalition is the result of conversations that emerged from a “Fake Reviews” conference organized by Tripadvisor and held in San Francisco last year. They said they will meet again in early December at a second conference organized by Amazon and held in Brussels.
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Fake online reviews are a concern for many companies and efforts are being made to combat them. Recently, Mozilla acquired Fakespot, an online service that helps users identify fake reviews, unreliable sellers, and counterfeit products online. Following the acquisition, Mozilla integrated Fakespot’s technology into the Firefox browser. The new Firefox feature is called “Review Checker” and will initially work for products sold on Amazon, BestBuy, and Walmart.
Source: abcnews.go.com
