Buying Product Reviews

This makes me re-evaluate online product reviews. Now I will hesitate if anything has numerous 5 star reviews.

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For $2 a Star, an Online Retailer Gets 5-Star Product Reviews

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/technology/for-2-a-star-a-retailer-gets-5-star-reviews.html

Published: January 26, 2012

Agencies like the Federal Trade Commission have been trying to crack down on online product reviews that do not disclose the connection between a merchant and the person doling out the praise.

Bing Liu, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is trying to devise mathematical models that can unmask fake product endorsements. “The incentives for faking are getting bigger,” he said. “It’s a very cheap way of marketing.”