Which? calls on Facebook to clamp down on fake reviews
Facebook is failing to get a handle on a rising tide of fake reviews which threaten to further undermine public confidence in its content, according to a new study by Which?
Which? Call on Facebook to get its house in order over fake review proliferation
The consumer organisation believes that there are hundreds of organised groups recruiting writers to pen false and or incentivised reviews for products, some of which may be unsafe, as part of a burgeoning cottage industry for five-star reviews.
Which? employees joined dozens of Facebook review groups during their research, unearthing 3,511 suspect posts had been created in just one day, with over 55,000 being generated in a month.
Natalie Hitchins, the head of products and services at the consumer group, said: “Our latest findings demonstrate that Facebook has systematically failed to take action while its platform continues to be plagued with fake review groups generating thousands of posts a day.
“It is deeply concerning that the company continues to leave customers exposed to poor quality or unsafe products boosted by misleading and disingenuous reviews. Facebook must immediately take steps to not only address the groups that are reported to it but proactively identify and shut down other groups.”
Responding to the accusations, Facebook said it had removed nine of the 10 groups reported to it by Which? and continued to investigate the tenth.
Which? has previously partnered with Grey London to raise awareness of fake online reviews among the public.
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