How to spot a fake. Can online ratings and reviews be trusted?
Online ratings and reviews are crucial tools for consumers of everything from TV shows to online gaming entertainment, but can they always be trusted? Unfortunately, these reviews cannot always be counted on to deliver factual or useful information. In fact, sometimes readers can be straight up lied to.
As a result, knowing how to spot a fake is incredibly important. The dangers of falsely believing fraudulent reviews can be incredibly serious, especially if there’s a significant amount of money on the line. Below, we review some of the obvious red flags that can quickly help you identify a fake and untrustworthy review.
Understanding how to do this won’t simply protect you from sub-par reviews, but it can also help consumers use trustworthy and informative reviews to their advantage. It’s essential knowledge in today’s world, and we’re here to help. So, whether you’re looking at reviews for this week’s Netflix shows or new computer games, we’ve got the tools to help. Keep reading for the lowdown.
Why being wary of online ratings and reviews is important
Before we jump into the practicalities, let’s start with an investigation into why being wary of online ratings and reviews is so important. There are numerous negative consequences that can stem from reading and trusting a fraudulent rating. Here are some of the most important:
Wasted money
The worst consequence of blindly trusting a review is wasting money on a product or service that’s far worse than you expected. Nobody wants to spend big on inferiority, but biased reviews can often hide bad products under unfounded positive feedback. Not only is this wasted purchasing money, but you’ll also need to spend more to buy a replacement.
Misleading information
False reviews are built upon misleading information, something that can cause all types of dangers. This is particularly important in the healthcare industry, for example, where skewed reviews for things like bandages or medicines can lead to dramatic consequences. Misinformation is often used to hide flaws in things like hotel rooms, so spotting the telltale signs is extremely important.
Trust erosion
Getting duped by a fake product review is incredibly annoying in the moment, but the aftershock can reverberate and be a consistent thorn in your side. One bad experience can make you skeptical, meaning you’ll ignore even reliable reviews. This makes the shopping process more stressful and less reliable, as you’ll no longer take anyone’s words at face value.
Hidden commission
Many seemingly independent review sites or experts can be part of undercover marketing schemes, something that immediately contributes to untrustworthy reviews. These people are paid to promote certain products over others. As you can imagine, this very often results in overly biased reviews.
Unhealthy competition
Online reviews and ratings aren’t only used by businesses to promote themselves, as they can also be directed at competitors. This can create huge problems, as businesses can target a competitor’s page with artificial bad reviews, consequently putting off consumers.
Hallmarks of legitimate online ratings and reviews
The best way to start learning how to spot fake reviews is learning the hallmarks of legitimate ratings and feedback. Generally speaking, if you see the following characteristics, you can rest assured the review you’re reading is trustworthy:
Specific details
Legitimate reviews are rarely generic, always including specific details about what works and doesn’t regarding a specific product or service. They don’t just use hyperbole and generic selling points, instead, they always mention targeted characteristics. Look for this level of specificity for the best results.
Balanced feedback
Genuine feedback should never be 100% positive or negative. Most people and reviewers have mixed experiences, and the ratings should always reflect this. Overly positive feedback or reviews with nothing but negative points can often indicate untrustworthiness. This can be due to either commission-based marketing or fraudulently negative reviews.
Reviewer or platform experience
Credible reviews and ratings are more likely to come from experienced sources, so always look for previous review history when trusting something. It’s easy for a website or person to spring out of nowhere and start delivering mass positive feedback, and many people don’t think to check. On the other hand, building trusted experience over several years is almost always a major green flag.
Verified status
Some leading review platforms like Trustpilot have a verified system, meaning the people leaving feedback have actually used the product or service. While this can’t guarantee a trustworthy review, having verified status is a solid indicator the feedback can be trusted.
Red flags to watch out for
Knowing red flags is just as important as singling out the key signs of a positive review. If you find some of the following when reading a review or online rating, we strongly recommend you think twice about believing the content:
Overly salesy
Overly salesy language is a clear red flag for reviews, as it’s pretty obvious the person writing it wants you to buy the product or service. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in its own right, more often than not, it points to a commission-based partnership between the reviewer and the company going on behind the scenes. Genuine reviews are far more specifically descriptive and far less pushy.
Commission links
Be extremely cautious of reviews that include direct links to purchase products. This is often a sign of affiliate marketing, meaning the reviewers are earning commission every time a customer buys something via the review. This can lead to inflated positivity and disappointment when a product isn’t quite as good as it was made out to be.
Poor insights
Vague and one-dimensional insights can often indicate a fake or untrustworthy review. Legitimate ratings are always built on true foundations, so if someone doesn’t have much to say about a product past a generic “it’s great” or “it’s terrible”, you should be suspicious. A real user will always have specific details to share about their experience, both good and bad.
Some of the best review sites
We’ve gone over some of the best ways to spot fake reviews, also suggesting some major green flags to watch out for. To finish, here are some of the best platforms that encapsulate these positive characteristics:
AskGamblers
AskGamblers has long been a reliable source for online casino fans looking for information regarding different games and platforms. The community-led platform has everything you need to pick out the best casinos, with trusted reviews covering everything from user experiences to bonuses, gaming libraries and payouts.
Trustpilot
Trustpilot is arguably the world’s most trusted review platform, known for its open and transparent approach. It covers a huge range of businesses, from local services to global brands. One of the major highlights is their rigorous approach to removing fake reviews.
Google Reviews
Google Reviews integrates directly with the search engine giant’s Maps application, giving users a handy way to review bars, restaurants and shops on the fly. The fact that reviews are tied to a Google account adds a layer of credibility, making them an extremely reliable source.