"The New York attorney general’s office just closed a year-long “sting” in which they fined 19 companies more than $350,000 in penalties for writing fake reviews."
Can I get a HELL YEAH!
Being asked to write (or find) fake reviews is one of the most uncomfortable conversations I have ever had with clients. I have actually been called a liar (in reference to my expertise and subject matter knowledge) because I refuse to help write and 'plant' fake reviews. Worse yet I will not help a company press charges against honestly posted negative reviews (competitors posting fake bad reviews is a different story…)
When I suggest they 'clean up their own house' first (meaning fix the issues with your company that cause the bad reviews you feel you need to fake a retaliation against) I'm again told I "just don't know how business works".
Oh really? A sting by the NY Attorney General's office says differently. Listen, working within the laws (even if you don't like them) and behaving ethically may be a slower road to success but it's the right road. If you want to fake great customers online, I promise you that your real bottom line will not reflect the fake glory you've puffed up for yourself.
Embedded Link
Fake Reviews Fined; PR Firms Beware
A recent sting in New York fined 19 companies for fake reviews, which included SEO firms. While PR agencies weren’t investigated, they could be next.
Google+: Reshared 5 times
Google+: View post on Google+
I have run into this very same "issue" several times in the last 4-5 years. It's amazing to me the amount of time and money some businesses want to invest in "diluting the negative reviews" with fake, good ones — instead of fixing what's wrong with their service/product/company in the first place.
I'm glad there's fallout now.
This has been going on for years. One car company from Japan has been active in trashing American cars since 2008 in online reviews. Their quest to be number one is do everything possible to get there. Read online reviews and then talk to people who own the products you would like to own yourself.
They need to start looking into the ZDNet article comments loaded with Microsoft Loveboy comments. I see that no where else.
HELL YEAH!!! Glad to see that ethics still have a place in good business practices.