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If you are looking to find a handy resource that collates customer reviews of businesses, then Trustpilot could be a great choice to do just that. However, the company has been plagued by fake reviews in the past, so how to spot fake Trustpilot reviews? That’s where we come in.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Trustpilot is a Danish review website in which consumers are encouraged to leave reviews on businesses throughout the world. It is particularly popular with large corporations looking to undergo a brand or image makeover.
Insider Tip
Trustpilot is a Danish review website in which consumers are encouraged to leave reviews on businesses throughout the world.
There sure are. Trustpilot has been plagued by fake reviews in the past, with the company being forced to delete millions of reviews at a time after it was discovered they were fake. The company has instituted multiple policies to control fake reviews, including creating several proprietary algorithms. However, fake reviews can still fall through the cracks even with all of this effort.
Here are several ways you can spot fake Trustpilot reviews so you can make informed purchase decisions on the Internet and at brick-and-mortar establishments. And if the social belonging theory works, the fake reviews problem becomes worse.
You can see the time stamp on reviews, so do some scrolling to be sure that the reviews were written and posted in regular intervals.
Look for reviews posted to a company’s Trustpilot page at or near the same exact time. If a company is getting hundreds of positive reviews streaming in at the same time, it is likely they are fake reviews that were purchased via unscrupulous means. You can see the time stamp on reviews, so do some scrolling to be sure that the reviews were written and posted at regular intervals.
In addition to paying attention to timestamps, devote some time to looking at the reviewer and what else they have reviewed. Are all their reviews positive, and are they directed at a single company? If so, you have a fake reviewer on your hands. If the reviewer posts a mix of reviews to multiple companies, it is likely that their review can be trusted.
Just as you would when reading Redbubble reviews, take some time to read and reread the review itself. Does it seem like an actual person wrote it with an actual opinion about an actual company? If so, good. If it seems off, or like a bot wrote it, then it could be a fake review. Those not written by bots, like fraudulent peer reviewed articles, are much harder to spot.
Alternatively, what often works better is known as UGC, user-generated content. This content shares user experiences with a brand’s services or products.
Warning
Trustpilot has been plagued by fake reviews in the past, with the company being forced to delete millions of reviews at a time after it was discovered they were fake.
F.A.Q.S
What can you do if you spot fake reviews?
You can contact Trustpilot directly via the app, or call the company’s customer service line. Another way to issue a complaint of a fake review is to find them on a social media site, such as Twitter.
Why fake reviews?
Companies will purchase fake reviews in order to boost the aggregate score of their overall reviews. This will create a false image that they are a trusted brand for curious consumers.
Do Trustpilot reviews matter?
Trustpilot reviews matter, as the company is one of the primary customer review sites. Positive Trustpilot reviews can make or break a company’s overall brand image.
STAT: 70% of global consumers believe that the censorship of customer reviews is a serious concern and 56% of people want more transparency about how review platforms publish their reviews. (source)
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