Up to 30% of online reviews are fake and consumers can't tell the difference
In case anyone wants an example of how challenging this actually is: try to find a sleep mask on Amazon that doesn't let a bunch of light in somewhere, isn't so thick it makes your face sweat, is comfortable while sleeping on your side, and has elastic that won't fail in 2 months.<p>After around a dozen failed attempts I finally found a great solution 9 months ago. Of course two days back I accidentally left it in a hotel room. Trying to buy a new one by clicking the link from my purchase history brings me to a listing with completely different pictures that look nothing like my beloved mask, now includes bluetooth music playback functionality, and of course costs about 3 times more. Pretty sure I won't get the same product if I bought it again.<p>So really I'm wondering if my previous 5 star review counts as a "fake review" based on this study's metrics and if not what percentage on top of that 30% is earnest reviews that are for completely different products.