Amazon is claiming that these false reviews negate the value of bona fide consumer reviews, (which seems a reasonable assumption), and that false reviews tarnish its brand. That’s pretty right. People read reviews in self-defence, to check out content and quality before buying.
In the past, as previously reported on Digital Journal, Amazon has also sued reviewers, notably on trash “we hate writers” site Fiverr, to try to manage the problem. The war against fake reviews, obviously, is continuing, and escalating.
As a writer, I find the vast numbers of fake reviews very worrying. There are some serious issues in this for writers, too. Writers, bless our furry little souls, like to think we’re reading genuine reviews, not paid slop. Feedback is critical in any creative process, as a reality check and to see who gets/ who doesn’t get your book.
The Internet has been plagued with ads for “book reviewers” in the last decade, and Amazon, as the major global outlet, is the natural target for reviews.
According to The Consumerist:
To help eliminate the incentives to engage in reviews abuse, we will continue to pursue legal action against the root cause of reviews abuse — the sellers and manufacturers who create the demand for fraudulent services — as well as the ecosystem of individuals and organizations who supply fraudulent reviews in exchange for compensation,” Amazon said in a statement.
That’s a much bigger ball game. Publishers and promo people can be remarkably naïve. Giving undue weight to fake reviews is really pretty dumb. Why wouldn’t a buyer read The New York Times or some other credible review source? Why would Bozo from Idaho’s review be more believable?
I can write you a review of a non-existent book right now, and it’d look like I was obsessing over the book, and really loved it:
The Fluttering is a love story. Not just any love story, but a romance between misfits, in a bizarre world of shaky identities and evasive relationships. The love between Dilly and Dally is edgy, provocative, sometimes sexy, sometimes hilarious, sometimes both….
You get the idea. Any competent writer could do that. It looks convincing. It looks like I’ve actually read the book and really loved it, despite the mildly intrusive fact that it doesn’t exist. That’s roughly the same value you get from fake book reviews. The reader convinces themselves that the reviewer is somehow gifted with insight, and naturally influenced by this tide of dribbling approval.
This is a list of ads for paid book reviews, as of today. It should be noted that at least some of these are legitimate review sites. There’s no way of knowing which is real and which isn’t. One of them even offers free books rather than money, and probably makes money on a deal with publishers or retail outlets. That, believe it or not, is a very old way of generating publicity materials, and not usually considered fraudulent. The fake reviews, of course, also undermine bona fide reviews.
As you can see from the list, it’s a menagerie of options for writers. Writers, many of whom really like eating and being able to pay bills, may do these jobs in good faith or not. The writing game isn’t famous for its ethics, just its very cynical perspectives. It’s a choice: do you write some crap for some jerk, or do you not?
Authors are also likely to be pretty ambivalent about reviews, paid or otherwise. The Amazon best seller, The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison, has 3,223 reviews at the time of writing. It’s anyone’s guess whether reviews are honest or not, under these circumstances. In fairness, best sellers tend to survive on their merits, rather than their hype, but if you’re the author, and you’re not sure which is which, it’s an uncomfortable position.
You’ll note in the actual reviews two highly revealing things in the review documentation: “Verified Purchase” and “Report abuse.” Amazon is obviously looking for any cheats, or any of those very nasty, hostile reviews which are sometimes fired at authors maliciously. It’s indicative of the depth of the problem that they’re prepared to load up each and every book with these things.
The problem, of course, is that this is endemic. Many authors, and some publicists, believe that visibility and online presence is enough of a reason to leave the ethics behind. “Everybody does it”, in fact, overlooking the fact that if everybody does it, and barely 1% of writers are successful, that what everybody does usually doesn’t work.
If you’re a writer, a bit of advice – You don’t need this sort of written request for trouble, either current or future. Amazon could and probably will, sooner or later, crack down on publishers and authors who deliberately use these methods. They’ll have to do that, because it’s a massive own goal for them. Just stay out of the way of the asteroid strike.
Disclosure: I’m an Amazon author and affiliate. I did not receive incentives, remuneration, instructions or advice of any kind from Amazon to write this article. It’s my opinion.
