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How can you tell when reviews are fake? How to Spot Fake Reviews.
Social Media Expert Kris Ruby was thrilled to be back on Fox & Friends with Tucker Carlson discussing top ways to spot fake Internet reviews before before booking your next vacation.
Online Reviews: To Trust Or Not To Trust?
Negative online business reviews are inevitable – even companies with consistent 5-star reviews get a handful of 1-star reviews from time to time.
The most common negative reviews concern the topic of poor service, which could translate into complaints like long wait times, dealing with rude employees, or overdue payments. With the rise in online review websites like Yelp and Trip Advisor, it’s more important than ever for companies to learn how to respond to negative reviews in a proper and timely matter.
READ: How to respond to negative online reviews
How to spot fake product reviews on Amazon
People frequently leave reviews for hotels and other services. But how do you know which reviews to trust and which online reviews are fake?
Social Media Strategist Kris Ruby joins Fox & Friends to share her tips for finding the most trustworthy reviews.
- Secrets to uncovering fake reviews online
- How do you know if an Amazon review is real?
- How to identify and spot fake reviews
Watch the full segment here
How to Spot Fake Reviews on Travel Websites
As the world becomes increasingly more digital, people are turning to online reviews to make informed decisions about where to stay, eat, and visit when traveling.
Unfortunately, not all online reviews are created equal. Some reviews may be fake or manipulated to deceive potential travelers and customers.
Online reviews heavily influence purchase decisions, but it is important to know that not every review is real.
- 95% of consumers read online reviews before they shop and 58% say they would pay more for the products of a brand with good reviews.
- 30% of online reviews are fake
In this article, you will learn how to spot fake reviews on travel websites to ensure that you’re making informed travel decisions when planning your next trip.
Be wary of reviews that are overly positive or negative. If a review seems too good to be true, it probably is. Similarly, if a review is overly negative, it may be a fake review from a competitor or disgruntled former employee at the hotel. Look for reviews that are balanced and offer both positive and negative feedback.
Pay attention to the language and tone of the review. Fake reviews may use overly flowery language or contain spelling and grammatical errors. They may also sound like they were written by a marketing professional rather than a real person or AI. Genuine reviews, on the other hand, are more likely to use natural language and reflect the writer’s personal experiences.
Another red flag to watch out for is a high number of reviews posted within a short period of time. If a hotel or restaurant suddenly receives a flood of positive reviews within a few days, it may be a sign that the reviews were manipulated. Similarly, if a business has a large number of negative reviews posted in a short period of time, it may be a targeted attack of social media harassment or cancel culture rather than genuine feedback.
Finally, take a look at the reviewer’s profile. Genuine reviewers often have a history of leaving reviews on multiple websites, while fake reviewers may only have one or two reviews on a single website. Look for reviewers who have a history of leaving balanced, honest feedback.
Online reviews can be a valuable resource when planning your next trip, but it’s important to be aware of the potential for fake reviews. By keeping an eye out for red flags such as overly positive or negative reviews, suspicious language and tone, and a high number of reviews posted within a short period of time, you can ensure that you’re making informed decisions based on genuine feedback from real customers.
How to Spot Fake Product Reviews on Amazon
Amazon has become a go-to for many. However, with so many products available, it can be challenging to determine which reviews are trustworthy.
Here are some tips on how to spot fake product reviews on Amazon.
- Check the reviewer’s profile
One of the easiest ways to check for fake reviews is to review the reviewer’s profile. If the reviewer has only written one review, it could be a red flag. Also, if the reviewer’s profile lacks a profile picture, name, or any other details, this could be a sign that their review is fake or that they are posting from a bot account.
- Look for patterns in sentiment analysis
If you come across several reviews with similar language, length, and tone, it’s possible that they are fake. Often, companies will pay individuals to write favorable reviews. These reviews will typically use similar language to promote the product.
- Check the dates of the reviews
If all the positive reviews of a product were written within a short period, it’s possible that the reviews are fake. Companies may ask individuals to leave positive reviews soon after a product launch to increase sales. This is a serious B2B Marketing Mistake that can result in an FTC violation.
- Analyze the content of the review
Another way to spot a fake review is to analyze the content. If the review only talks about the product’s positive aspects and lacks any critical feedback, it could be a fake review. Real reviews will typically mention both the good and bad points of a product.
- Use third-party tools
Several third-party tools can help you identify fake reviews. Fakespot is an AI tool that analyze Amazon reviews and grade reviews based on authenticity. AI tools can help you make an informed decision before purchasing a product.
Fake reviews can be detrimental to your online shopping experience. By following these tips, you can identify fake reviews and make an informed decision when purchasing products on Amazon.
Remember always to check the reviewer’s profile, look for patterns in the reviews, analyze the content of the review, and use third-party tools to make an informed decision.
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FOX & FRIENDS TRANSCRIPT WITH KRIS RUBY & TUCKER CARLSON:
Hi, everyone. If you are planning a holiday trip, beware before booking, and don’t get fooled by fake online reviews.
Tucker Carlson: A lot of us are fooled. That’s why we brought the CEO of the Ruby Media Group in social media and tech expert Kris Ruby to the couch this morning to help us sort fake from real. Kris, How do you know if you’re reading a fake review?
Kris Ruby: The first thing you want to do is you really want to review the reviewer. Look at their digital footprint. What else have they written online on other websites? Are they only writing reviews on one company? Are they verified by a third-party trusted website? You want to look at all these things. Also the language they use in reviews. Are they overly ecstatic about what they’re seeing when they write reviews or are they extremely negative?
Tucker Carlson: Yeah, but to me, that feels like a lot of work. Looking at the language overly excited, overly negative. I get that. That’s easy. But, looking into the reviewer, who else are they representing? All of it. I just want to get online and do it in 30 seconds or less and that sounds like it’s going to take me ten minutes.
Kris Ruby: It definitely will take you ten minutes. But unfortunately, it’s what you have to do now because so many of these reviews are fake. If you really want to get to the truth, to the bottom of it, you have to kind of look at the top reviews, the worst reviews, and usually, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Tucker Carlson: You say pay attention to detail. What are the details we should be looking for?
Kris Ruby: Are they mentioning specific details about the room that they were in? Are they mentioning specific employees of the hotels they are staying at? Someone who is a little bit more neutral probably won’t do that because they don’t want to get someone fired.
Tucker Carlson: Where are these fake reviews coming from?
Kris Ruby: Well, sometimes you can pay for them.
Tucker Carlson: Right, like the fake negative reviews. Is that the competitor company paying someone to trash their reputation?
Kris Ruby: Sometimes it is. Yeah. Or other times its just other people who are getting paid to do it. It’s like catfish. The fake girlfriend. Fake review.
Tucker Carlson: It’s dark out there.
Kris Ruby: It is. It’s so dark. The bottom line is it’s not just hotels, it’s restaurants, it’s spas. It’s everything and everyone, especially businesses now. Even with other sites like Glassdoor, it’s terrible.
Tucker Carlson: And the last two tips you’ve got compare reviews across other sites. What are the good sites?
Kris Ruby: TripAdvisor is one of them, but you want to look at photos, you want to look at Yelp, you want to look at all of them.
Tucker Carlson: Are TripAdvisor and Yelp doing anything to address this problem? Are they trying to filter out the fake reviews?
Kris Ruby: They are because they’ve had their own lawsuits as well. And they’re trying to verify specific people. You also want to look at how many reviews has this person written. If they’ve written a ton, chances are it’s a good review. If they leave a review everywhere they travel, yes, trust them. But if they’ve only left two reviews, not so good. I wouldn’t trust them.
Tucker Carlson: Finally, you say just trust your gut. Just simply trust your gut.
Kris Ruby: Trust your gut. If it’s something that you think, read it out loud to yourself, does it sound like something you would write? If it does, most likely it’s true. If not, it’s a sham.
Tucker Carlson: If I get an email from a Nigerian businessman saying that his uncle has died and there’s money, we’ll talk about it during the commercial break. Alright. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
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KRIS RUBY is the CEO of Ruby Media Group, an award-winning public relations and media relations agency in Westchester County, New York. Kris Ruby has more than 15 years of experience in the Media industry. She is a sought-after media relations strategist, content creator and public relations consultant. Kris Ruby is also a national television commentator and political pundit and she has appeared on national TV programs over 200 times covering big tech bias, politics and social media. She is a trusted media source and frequent on-air commentator on social media, tech trends and crisis communications and frequently speaks on FOX News and other TV networks. She has been featured as a published author in OBSERVER, ADWEEK, and countless other industry publications. Her research on brand activism and cancel culture is widely distributed and referenced. She graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication with a major in public relations and is a founding member of The Young Entrepreneurs Council. She is also the host of The Kris Ruby Podcast Show, a show focusing on the politics of big tech and the social media industry. Kris is focused on PR for SEO and leveraging content marketing strategies to help clients get the most out of their media coverage.