In today’s internet age, it is not uncommon for consumers to
check the internet for reviews before purchasing an item or service. Companies
have caught on to this trend too, paying close attention to their online presence
and reaching out to customers that leave negative reviews in hopes of getting
them to change them. Some companies have taken this practice even further.
Nowadays, many large corporations have resorted to paying
people to write positive reviews for their own products and negative ones for
their competitors. For example, Samsung have been investigated in Taiwan for hiring students to post
negative reviews for its rival’s (HTC) phones. Rumors recently came out
that Microsoft is manipulating
posts in the social media site Reddit to promote its new video game
console, the Xbox One.
This sort of manipulation is done by review companies as
well. Many complaints about Yelp have surfaced with regards to them extorting
small businesses for ad revenue. The allegation is that many businesses saw
their positive reviews get deleted from their site after they declined to
advertise with the company. Many times the change was enough to drop the overall
star rating of the business.
So, the next time you are looking for information online.
Keep in mind that companies know all your favorite review sites and aren’t
above influencing them to get your business.
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