Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Amazon deleted 20,000 product ratings after an investigation highlighted paid-for reviews

Amazon deleted 20,000 product ratings after an investigation highlighted paid-for reviews

Amazon removed 20,000 product reviews following revelations that some sellers offer free products in exchange for positive ratings. An investigation by the Financial Times analyzed the behavior of top reviewers in the UK. One user posted a review every four hours, on average, during August, and then sold duplicate products on eBay. Positive reviews can lift a product's rating and cause a short-term spike in sales.

Amazon has removed 20,000 product reviews after a Financial Times investigation suggested that some of the site's top UK reviewers may have profited from leaving positive ratings.

The paper's analysis showed nine of Amazon's top 10 UK reviewers dished out five-star reviews to products from little-known Chinese brands. The FT found the same products in Facebook groups and forums that offer free products or money in exchange for ratings.

Amazon deleted around 20,000 reviews from seven of these users just hours after the paper's report on Friday.

Amazon also removed thousands of ratings analyzed in a study into paid-for reviews by the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Positive reviews feed into Amazon's product-ranking algorithm, and determine whether a product gets a coveted "Amazon's choice" label. Because of this, vendors have started offering reviewers their products for free – or even for a commission — on Facebook groups and forums.

USC and UCLA researchers identified around 2,500 of these groups, and around 80% of the products posted in them were from China. Their paper showed that these fake reviews can lift a product's rating temporarily and cause a short-term spike in sales.

Researchers reported that around a third of the reviews on products they were monitoring were removed by Amazon – and that most of these were five-star reviews.

One user posted a review every four hours


The FT's analysis showed that Amazon UK's top-ranked reviewer, Justin Fryer, rated products totalling £15,000 ($19,740) in August alone, including three gazebos, 10 laptops, and even dolls houses, posting a review on average every four hours. Many of the products he reviewed were then listed for sale on an eBay account bearing his name and address.

Fryer denied he was given the products for free in exchange for positive reviews, and said the eBay listings were for duplicate products he had received. He deleted his Amazon review history after being contacted by the paper.

Several other prominent reviews also removed their history after being contacted by the paper, it said.

Amazon invested more than $500 million into tackling online fraud and abuse in 2019, a spokesperson told The Markup. This includes both software and human investigators analyzing millions of reviews a week. The spokesperson also said that the company has "sued thousands of bad actors for attempting to abuse our reviews systems."

"We want Amazon customers to shop with confidence knowing that the reviews they read are authentic and relevant," an Amazon spokesperson told the FT, adding that it takes action against people who violate its policies.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×