That’s the headline on a story I wrote Tuesday. It begins:
Amazon.com Inc. said it filed a lawsuit against the administrators of what it says are more than 10,000 Facebook groups used to coordinate fake reviews of Amazon products.
Those in charge of the Facebook groups solicit the reviews for items ranging from camera tripods to car stereos in exchange for free products or money, Amazon said in a statement.
The activity, which is against Amazon’s rules, occurs across Amazon’s stores in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan, the company said. Such bogus reviews are typically used to boost products’ ratings and increase the likelihood customers buy them.
The lawsuit represents “proactive legal action targeting bad actors,” Amazon Vice President Dharmesh Mehta said.
My colleague Nicole Nguyen wrote last year about the problem of inauthentic reviews on Amazon.
And she has a new story out Wednesday, in the wake of Amazon’s suit, with tips on spotting fake reviews.