When it comes to fake reviews, even major websites aren’t actually safe. The controversy surrounding Amazon bogus reviews is a good example as there have been numerous reports of allegedly fake reviews found on the website. Amazon.com is a multination e-commerce company and is in fact the largest online retailer in the world. Having started out as an online bookstore under the ownership of Jeff Bezos in the year 1994, Amazon has since then expanded to selling toys, software, electronics, furniture, kitchen items, jewelry, apparel, and even food.

 How Amazon Reviews Work

Amazon.com enables users to submit a review for each product which will appear on its corresponding web page. Reviewers can rate a product using a rating scale consisting of 1 to 5 stars. The more stars given, the more satisfied a customer is with the product. There is also a badge option for its users where the real name of the user will be displayed along with the review. Customers may also comment on the reviews previously posted and vote on them if they found it helpful or not.  As such, there will usually be a badge option for reviewers who are considered to be among the list of favorites based on the votes. Reviews considered to be most helpful are also usually displayed on the product web page’s front page.

A True Case of Fake Reviews

If you are still skeptical if Amazon bogus reviews really do exist, then you probably haven’t heard of the case of Orlando Figes.  Orlando Figes is a historian and professor at Birkbeck College in London who was sued due to posting unnamed reviews on Amazon praising his personal work while criticizing those of his rivals. Professor Robert Service and Dr. Rachel Polonsky sued Prof. Figes for libel. As a result, Prof. Figes had to pay for libel damages and costs to his fellow historians. Prof. Figes initially denied the allegations but released a statement afterwards admitting that he was responsible for the fake reviews.

 Protecting Yourself

If you find one of your products has received a negative review, then the first thing to do would be to establish whether it is genuine or not. Just because it says something bad about your product doesn’t automatically mean that it is false. In case you suspect that these negative reviews are Amazon bogus reviews, you can file a complaint with the website stating your side and why you believe it to be a fake review. Most websites, however, will not comply with your request unless there is a court order. The only way to get a court order to remove the false review is by winning a defamation lawsuit. Upon filing a lawsuit, you can also obtain an order to subpoena Amazon so that you can identify who is behind the fake reviews. Amazon will have to respond to the subpoena by supplying information about the user who left the review. Fake reviews are rampant not only in Amazon but in other websites as well. Hopefully, these websites can implement better measures to avoid bogus reviews for the protection of consumers and business owners alike.