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You hear the advice all the time: Before you buy something, especially a big-ticket item, go online and check the user reviews. It makes sense to learn what people who bought a product think about it.
But can these comments be trusted? In most cases they can, but not always. Some are written by manufacturers, retailers or salespeople trying to drum up business. Others are posted by people who are paid to write phony reviews.
Fake reviews not easy to spot
Chances are you think you can spot a review that isn’t legit. But a recent study by researchers at Cornell University found that most of us aren’t very good at it.
“We have these very strong feelings that we can tell when someone is lying, but the research suggests we’re actually quite bad at it,” says Jeff Hancock, an associate professor of communication at Cornell.
To prove this point, the study lists two reviews of a Chicago hotel. Which one is real? Which one is fake? (Note: in both examples, the typos appear as they did online.)
1. I have stayed at many hotels traveling for both business and pleasure and I can honestly stay that The James is tops. The service at the hotel is first class. The rooms are modern and very comfortable. The location is perfect within walking distance to all of the great sights and restaurants. Highly recommend to both business travelers and couples.
2. My husband and I stayed at the James Chicago Hotel for our anniversary. This place is fantastic! We knew as soon as we arrived we made the right choice! The rooms are BEAUTIFUL and the staff very attentive and wonderful!! The area of the hotel is great, since I love to shop I couldn’t ask for more!! We will definatly be back to Chicago and we will for sure be back to the James Chicago.
Are you ready? The first one is real. The second is fake. Clearly, a good shill writer can fake you out.
That’s why Hancock says don’t waste your time trying to spot what he calls “opinion spam.” How widespread is the problem? Hancock believes between 5 and 10 percent of user-written reviews are deceptive. Not an outrageous percentage, but clearly a real problem.
Hancock says you can reduce the chance of reading phony reviews by going to sites (such as Amazon.com) that only accept reviews from people who have actually purchased the products.
How to for the warning signs
No matter where you look, you should “be skeptical and take everything with a grain of salt,” cautions Andrea Woroch, consumer savings adviser for the website Coupon Sherpa. “You have to dissect those reviews to make sure they don’t have false information.”
Christine Frietchen is editor-in-chief of ConsumerSearch.com, a website that recommends products based on user and expert reviews. She says fake reviews are often “over the top” and urge you to “go out and buy the product right now.”
Frietchen doesn’t worry much about misspelled words. That’s a common problem with user reviews. For her, the red flags are glowing comments that make the product sound perfect in every way and lots of exclamation marks.
“Look for detail in the review,” she advises. “Somebody who is not very knowledgeable about the product, someone who doesn’t use specific examples or tell you how they used it or how they tried to use it and it didn’t work out, those could possibly be fakes.”
The Consumerist, a website run by the folks behind Consumer Reports, lists four warning signs that online reviews have been written by corporate shills:
- They have zero caveats and are full of empty adjectives and pure glowing praise with no downsides.
- All are left within a short period of time of each other.
- They’re mainly a list of product features. (Real users talk more about performance, reliability, and overall value.)
- The reviewer’s names are variations of one another, such as happykat1234, happykat7593, happykat6687.
Chris Morran, senior editor at The Consumerist, says when it comes to reviews of electronic products, watch out for marketing language – very specific terms or model numbers that the average person wouldn’t use.
“For instance, if you’re looking for a modem and you see ‘explosive speed.’ No one talks like that, even if they love the product.”
So what should you do?
Look for reviews from experts and consumers. Don't rely on a review from one site or even lots of opinions for one site. Check a number of sites and you'll get a more balanced view. For expert reviews I rely on Consumer Reports and CNET (for electronics). Other sites you might want to check: Buzzillions, Epinions and ConsumerSearch.
Leave a Comment:
I post reviews for TripAdvisor every time I take a trip. I try to post about the hotel, the attractions near the hotel, and almost all of the incidentals in which I need to pay like parking, taxi fare, and restaurant costs. I always look for trends when I analyze reviews. One easy trend to spot is to never trust a review written by a couple on their honeymoon. Honeymooners often see their hotels as "the best ever" or "wouldn't change a thing". I often ask myself how often this couple actually left their room. Reviews should be written with as much detail as you would appreciate reading in a review. This was my last review, which is a bit lengthy. I think I covered most anything any visitor to downtown Montreal may want to read about a hotel:
I have stayed in Montreal about 20 times to attend hockey games. I have stayed at various hotels in the downtown area, ranging from the Marriott to the Travelodge. This hotel is now in my top three. A friend recommended this hotel to me.
I booked through the hotel website for the third weekend in October. They have a free loyalty club through the hotel's website that offers discounted stay based upon the number of days until your stay. I booked a room (with a 7-day advanced planning discount) for US $98 (plus QC taxes) that had two queen size beds and a queen size pull-out sofa. The room was nicely furnished with dark wood furniture and very soft carpeting. The beds were very comfortable (medium-hard with a pillow-top) and the bathroom exceeded expectations, complete with hair dryer, massage-type shower head (no tub - just a stall), plenty of towels and the standard amenities. We always had hot-water on demand and the water pressure was strong. There was a 27" flat-screen tv in the room that had a good mix of English and French speaking channels. There was also a single-cup coffee-maker and a leather office-style chair at the desk. There was bottled-water available for $3 for the 1 liter. I bought a 2-liter bottled water at the convenience store across the street for the same price.
Our room was on the second floor and did not have a balcony. Looking out our window, we could see all of the Crescent St bars. We could barely hear the noise from them, but this could have been the air conditioner drowning out the sound.
Parking was $20 per 24 hours and the lot was directly next to the hotel. This lot provided us in/out access and no tipping was necessary.
Checking in was a breeze. Upon check-in, they gave us the password to access the free wifi. My friend used the wifi with his smartphone and he seemed satisfied with it. The front desk always had smiling employees and they were very helpful about providing directions and even a plunger, on request. Checking out was also very easy, but they did not offer express check-out like you so often find in the US.
The hotel does not have a pool or a fitness center. There were no vending machines at the hotel and the ice machine was near the lobby.
There was a computer in the front desk area that we used to check times for movie listings. They could make this computer area a bit more private and definitely more comfortable. The computer is at waist height, facing everyone, and there is no chair available for it.
The location is great if visiting the Bell Centre or the downtown area is where you want to be. It's a block to Starbucks, St. Catherine's St, and plenty of shopping. There is a movie theater (and the mall) about five blocks away. Both the Peel and Guy-Concordia Metro stations are about 4 blocks away. The Bell Centre is about 3 blocks away.
Room Tip: The free rewards program is called Choice Privileges. I signed up and had a number in less than 2 minutes. You can use this number to book rates. I usually hit all of the travel sites looking for the best deals and nothing could beat the rate offered through the hotel website.
After reading this post, I'm left with a big question, REAL or FAKE ! Like this article is written about,
How to spot fake online product reviews
Fakes easy to spot. Unlike this article, fakes are usually the ones with great reviews while the rest are bad. Plus if there aren't specifics, good or bad, the review is pointless and should be ignored.
MSNBC, who's going to write a fake review next to a great review, doesn't make sense. People write, or hire services, when their reviews are bad, not when they are good. Get a clue.
Fake
FAKE !!! gigs73, your post reads like an introduction to "travel 101" for idiots. AND, I doubt you travel as much as you proclaim. Short reviews, without the hype are best.
This article was the BEST!!! It summed up everything I wanted to know!! The author has helped me in ways I can't explain in words!!!
I just made that up...
Scott .. that wasn't the point of the article. It was simply presenting two reviews and asking the reader to select one or the other as the fake. It didn't say that they appeared side-by-side in reality. The point is to point out that people often can't tell fakes from real ones (they may not be side-by-side, but on different web sites).
However, I thought that the second review was obviously fake. Not even close. Any time I see "!!!", I discount the review.
I've always found it easy to spot fake reviews. As the article points out, too many glowing words in capitals and exclamation points. Words no one really uses. Overly-detailed product info. It's not hard. (Of course, I can't verify that, but they look fake to me.)
What you really want to look at when you're reading reviews is the bad ones. I may read the 5-star write-ups for information, but it's the 1- and 2-star reviews that highlight any potential problems.
I tend to look at the 1 and 2-star reviews as well, but also the middle-of-the-road reviews which state both pros and cons of an item. Sometimes even the 1-star reviews can be fake, coming from competition or just some "fanboy" of a competing product. (The latter are fairly common in videogame and other tech products.) Overall though, especially when it comes to big-ticket items, one has to do more research than just the reviews one might find on Amazon, for example. There are plenty of sites one can Google to find product reviews on, that supplement what people say on Amazon and other retailers.
Gigs73, your review is the kind that I find helpful when making a lodging decision, especially in a strange city. While some here have indicated that they think short reviews are best, I like the ones, like yours, that cite actual experiences and provide information about the hotel and staff that doesn't appear on the hotel's website. The length of a review is less relevant to me than the amount of detail provided by the reviewer. In general, the more, the better.
It's interesting to note that this is the only post Gigs73 ever made, and according to his Newsvine profile he joined in "December 2011" which would be TODAY. (since it's the 1st of the month).
Maybe his post is part of a test by the author of the article to see if we were paying attention.
Oh and about the article, I'll give it two and a half stars. If you are going to point out other people's typos, make sure you don't make them yourself:
I think this review is real; it's too long to be fake. I always read the bad reviews, they're almost certainly real.
Am I the only one who read this review and still doesn't know which hotel is being reviewed?
"I have stayed in Montreal about 20 times to attend hockey games. I have stayed at various hotels in the downtown area, ranging from the Marriott to the Travelodge. This hotel is now in my top three. A friend recommended this hotel to me."
I've never been to Montreal, but if I did want to go, which hotel is this?
The problem with a lengthy review is the opportunity to read from more reviewers. I want opinons from more than one person, not one long drawn out review that tells me stuff I can find out myself before the trip. You don't need a hotel review to tell you what is nearby, we have Google maps for that. As for a lot of the other details, if I can't find out there is a coffee maker and flat panel TV on the hotel website I really shouldn't stay at that hotel.
I also want to read many hotel reviews because let's face it, you can have different service from floor to floor depending on who is working and how they do their job. I travel mostly for business and the important things are amenities like WiFi and the coffee maker and I can find that out on the hotel site. If I travel for vacation, the room is where I will spend the least amount of time.
This article should have shown a product review. Big screen TV, computer or Wifi routers. Something the reviewer is spending more than a week using. I believe fake reviews from these products are easier to find. Some of them flat out look like the marketing department spent the day writing them.
How would you like to be trapped on a trip with gags73?lol
Yes, I did say "gags73".
I don't read positive reviews. I only read negative reviews to find out if there's anything "wrong" with a product or service. Negative reviews are a lot more honest and harder to fake. And yes, if I'm buying something online I will check Amazon's reviews even if I'm not buying from that site (which is rare).
I also read the negative ones, but I look for patterns or repeated problems. If there is just a single reference to a problem its not really worth noting. But if many reviews have the same problem its with looking at the higher reviews to see if they also has that problem but still like the product.
You're missing out if you just read negative reviews. I've noticed that, at least on Amazon, sometimes the positive reviews will correct mistake impressions left by a negative review. For instance, a negative review might (incorrectly) claim that an item doesn't have a required capability, while the positive reviews will often correct the inaccurate information.
Like Grumpy, I look for patterns. Even the best product in the world will have a few failures or a few people who just don't like it. And, some people are impossible to please. But, if I see repeated complaints about a given failure or lack of after-sale service, I steer clear of the product.
You beat me to it, Barry. I also read Amazon's customer reviews, starting from one star and going up from there. I've been looking for a scanner and/or printer lately, and the bad reviews from users have prevented me from buying several products (from reputable companies!) that look oh, so good at first, but quickly display their crappy manufacture or design.
I would have to agree w/ you, Barry. I bought an external hard drive because the CNET reviews were awesome. When it died on me and I could only SMS a customer service rep, not call w/out paying, even though the item was still under warranty, I was outraged. I went to the Amazon reviews, and, sure enough, more than half of the reviewers had that problem as well. Especially when you are buying things you will have for awhile, like electronics, appliances, etc., the service and troubleshooting of the company count as well.
Now, I never buy a product w/out checking the Amazon ratings. The tip I learned is this--start w/ the lowest ratings and then read the highest ratings. Sometimes the solution is found in the highest ratings, sometimes it isn't. Chances are, if most of the reviews cite crappy customer service, that is what you will get if your product breaks down.
I often wonder about hotel reviews. I constantly see reviews complaining about a single hair found on the pillow. Or hair down the tub drain. I wonder how picky can people be. Maybe if you stay at a $250 a night place I could barely see that. But the people that make those complaints stay at a hotel that can only be called "what the hell did you expect for $69!"
Devil's son, is that $69 for the night or the hour?
Either way, I want clean sheets.
Perhaps it was the style of writing, but the second one read absolutely like an advertisement to me.
As the article stated the use of exclamation points was the first tip off that it could have been fake and as I read further I found I was correct.
I just read several reviews and get a feel for what comes up again and again. If several people complain about the same thing, it's probably true. If only one person complains about something, I don't pay it much attention.
I also give more weight to non-perfect scores. A lot of times I'll ignore the 5 (out of 5) star reviews, and also the 1 star.
That isn't true at all, Amazon allows anyone to leave a review, and sometimes even allows reviews before a product is even released. They do put a tag on reviews if you actually bought it, but there is nothing at all stopping you from reviewing a product you've never even seen before.
I agree with capn, but I use the recurring problems to see if they show up in the 4 of 5 star reviews to see if the problem is really that big or just a minor inconvenience.
Absolutely right. You go down to the review section and on the right is a tab to "Create your own Review". Click on that and the first page comes up want you to select either an new customer or an existing customer.
Good catch.
I have read many articles on the interwebs. This is by far the absolute finest I have come across!! Each and every word is chosen with the well-honed skill of a master wordsmith!! Each sentence is crafted with the genius and intuition of a master chef. I have reread the article at least 20 times, and each time it reveals a deeper and richer layer of meaning!!
What more can I say? Mr. Herb Weisbaum clearly deserves every literary accolade that is certain to be bestowed upon him!!
Bravo! Bravo! Encore! Encore!
- Herb Weisbaum
I wanted to write something clever in response, but all I can do is chuckle.....
Excellent!!!
"I wanted to write something clever in response, but all I can do is chuckle....."
Slacker. I chortled. Then guffawed. Took a deep breath then commenced giggling with glee akin to a clutch of young biddies in a junior high playground.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What are we writing about? I forgot.
I usually start by reading all the negative reviews. No company or paid phony reviewer is going to "dis" their product. The lower the rating the more likely it is to be genuine. Also, look at what the reviewer list as reasons for their negative review. Look for low ratings based on trivial issues or unrealistic user expectations. If the companies or reviewers want to skew the negative ratings this is one way the can do it. If there are only a few negative response or their content is trivial or unrealistic then read some of the positives. You should always read the positives with a jaundiced eye. Most important, read reviews from the widest possible number of seller of the product.
Of course, those negative reviews could be left by someone being paid by a competitor who is selling something similar and is trying to get you to buy that instead.
It's not the companies themselves that will post the unfavorable reviews but rather competitors. It happens quite frequently that negative reviews are left to damage one company in order to benefit another one.
True, no one is going to put down their own product/service but their competitors might.
Brett Favre is the best to ever play the game!
That's not a review - that's an opinion. Brett Favre is a discontinued model of NFL quarterback. Several versions have been produced. The early version was ranked as one of the best the game has ever produced. The more recent model has had much reduced performance and has been, quite frankly, unreliable. That's a review.
I try not to read at all. Solves lots of problems ;)
Gotta ask...... how did you end up here?
Questions even an Einstein would be unable to answer.
Don't forget the home shopping channels.....I always start with the lowest ratings. Some of those are hysterical.
Makes me laugh that judging by this article, probably all my reviews sound like fake ones. LOL! Goes to show you can't ever tell, I guess. Some of us are just enthusiastic - and yes, I am one that would probably write something about "explosive" speed on a modem or something. *shrug*
That was an explosive article!!!! Full of intriguing and stylish writing that encapsulates the entire review process from true to life all the way to the fake and phony review postings. Who could ask for anything more in an article!!! Stupendous and downright engaging!!! If you haven’t read this article completely you MUST read it again!! WOW!
I disagree wholly. I can usually spot fake reviews easily. 1. Fake reviewers designed to trash the product always mention the competitors brand and why its much better. i.e, I hated this _______compared to the ____— brand which is much better.
2. Fake reviews that try to sell the product tend to be short "I love this product". They never get into the details. The reviewers are usually paid to say this and move on to other web pages or post this 10 or 20 times to get the star rating up.
3. Some of the fake reviews, especially for electronic devices and software are written by foreigners who have a poor command of the english language and again are paid. They can be trashing of loving the product but its usually a short comment.
3. The real reviews, good or bad are usually in-dept. People that truely do not like the product explain in detail why and what went wrong. Ditto on people that really liked the product. Any one who is writing three paragraphs of detail is usually telling the truth.
PS, I have one rule of thumb: find the bad reviews and read several. You will learn a lot about the product or service than relying on the good reviews only. The good reviews are good but the bad ones can be telling. i.e, looking for a Cruise. Go to a Cruise website that has all the cruise lines and find the review section. You would be surprised what you find out about the ins and outs of each liner and how they operate don't operate by the bad reviews.
i find that newegg has a pretty good review system. I also always look at the negative and positive reviews.
This is the BEST article I've ever read ANYWHERE!!! i giv them 5 STARS!!!!! It is the MOST informative article I've ever read!!!!!!! I'd recomend this article to ALLL my friends!!!
happykat1234
You beat me to it!
When I buy an item on line, I do not do it based on customer reviews. I buy the item(s) based on the product facts from the seller.
When I am reading a review, if possible, I look at what other products or services they have perviously reviewed. I like to review hotels, restaurants and different places I visit on vacation and some reviews are glowing, some not so great. I think if there was ever a question about the legitimacy of my reviews, they could see the photos I attach to individual reviews or read what I have written about different places.
I realize that a lot of places that are utter crap know it and will intentionally post positive reviews to try and bolster their rating. However, when 90% of the other reviews all mention that it is a roach infested crack den in the flight path of a major airport (something the other review fails to mention), I'm going to take the word of the majority. I might wind up missing out on a true gem, but after reading reviews on a regular basis, you learn who is just being a nit-picky jerk vs. those with legitimate complaints.
I looked at Tripadvisor to look at information about a hotel in Kolkata international airport, India. I knew that the hotel was closed for construction, but did not know if they were operational yet. Every month, different people posted glowing reviews about how wonderful and convenient the hotel was, but I was skeptical. So, I had a local person check it out. Turns out that the hotel is completely demolished, doesn't exist, and no one knows when it will be rebuilt. So, for people looking at Tripadvisor for reviews of hotels in foreign lands, please have other routes of confirmation. I complained to Tripadvisor and they removed the false information.
Were we not supposed to be able to tell which one was fake? The second one was pretty obvious.
When I read reviews I read both positive and negative, and I try to read enough of the reviews to get a decent sample. There are almost always over the top reviews on both sides so I ignore those, then get a realistic idea based on the remainder of the reviews.
Yes, but can you spot a comment troll? Neither can any of the other entitled spineless liberals in here.
z-933870 - watch your mouth! You know there are also spineless conservatives. Maybe you're one of them?
But, we spotted you!
George Bush and Glenn Beck vivisect Labrador retriever puppies for fun.
Funny, Z. I see you caught a couple there.
Thank you. Good to see my humor isn't flying over every head.
People write reviews in a hurry and at times there are typos.
Even the real one has a typo...
"... and I can honestly stay that The James is tops."
Is this article real or fake? (scratching head)
x
I had to laugh at the article as my daughter's handle is 'happykat'!! Weird coincidence. As she is only 11, she's not making any reviews of anything yet but still made me chuckle!
Ironically, one place to see a plethora of fake websites and fake reviews is right on the MSNBC.COM website, either down the right side or bottom of the home page, or in the sleazy pulse360.com pop-up ads (if you forgot to set your pop-up blocker for this page). While I can't argue with the point of the article, and knowing how to spot fake vs. real, it's a little disingenuous of MSNBC.COM to not police their own site a little better, and more closely monitor who they're allowing to advertise in their own space.
What I noticed about the reviews is that the second one mentioned the full name of the hotel several times; something marketers do to drill it into your brain. Real reviewers don't worry about that so much - pronouns work just fine.
You are correct, RandomB. It's actually SEO/SEM. The more references, the higher the Google score.
"pronouns work just fine."
You got sumpthin' against amateur nouns, buddy? Huh? If you do we'll meet at the bicycle racks after school and settle this!!!!!!!
I actually make fake bad reviews all the time, but then again, they really are dependent on what kind of mood I'm in... Happy Shopping!
Most times, other reviewers call out the shills.