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To combat bogus reviews, major online businesses like Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia, and Tripadvisor have banded together.
The organization, which also includes review websites Glassdoor and Trustpilot, will exchange knowledge on discouraging fraud.
It is in response to worries that automated chatbot-like systems are being employed to generate fraudulent internet reviews.
Fake reviews can harm a business’ reputation and influence customers to purchase subpar goods and services.
According to a recent government study, fake product reviews alone might cost UK customers almost £312 million annually.
According to the report, up to 15% of all evaluations on e-commerce sites for three popular product categories—consumer electronics, home and kitchen, and sports and outdoors—were likely false.
The government intends to tackle the purchase, selling, or hosting of bogus reviews by utilizing the new Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Bill presently being debated in parliament.
The Federal Trade Commission in the US is recommending a similar course of action.
It happens at a time when the potential for an arms race between fake review fraudsters and merchants is being raised by the growing capability of AI.
AI is already being used by some members of the new organization, which calls itself the Coalition for Trusted Reviews, to help identify phony reviews, but it may also make it easier and less expensive to create a large number of credible fake reviews.
The group will take on the scammers in the following ways:
- Establishing criteria for bogus reviews across the sector
- Distributing information on how to host and moderate internet reviews
- Exchanging information on companies that sell bogus reviews and companies that use them to boost their image.
When announcing the new organization, Dharmesh Mehta, a vice president at Amazon, noted that fraudsters were a widespread issue that affected numerous businesses.
“Through greater collaboration and sharing across industries, including information on fraudsters’ tactics and how they operate, we can more effectively shut down fraudulent review activity, deter other bad actors from attempting to game our systems, and protect more consumers,” he stated.
In 2022, the online travel agency Tripadvisor discovered 1.3 million fraudulent reviews on its website.
Fake review authors “often operate outside of jurisdictions with a legal framework to shut down fraudulent activity, making robust cooperation even more important,” according to Becky Foley, a vice president for the platform.
Credits: BBC
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