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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Zoe Wood

Social media sites failing to curb ‘cottage industry’ of fake reviews, Amazon says

An Amazon customer review page
Last year Amazon reported more than 23,000 groups facilitating fake reviews to social media platforms and messaging apps. Photograph: Jenny Kane/AP

Shoppers are being deceived because social media platforms and messaging apps are not doing enough to prevent a “cottage industry of fraudsters” soliciting fake reviews, according to Amazon.

Fake reviews have become one of the most persistent scourges of online retailers, and some analysts think that about one in seven reviews in the UK are not the real deal, with blame often directed at groups that proliferate on Facebook.

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