False Online Reviews Hurt Businesses
Whitney Gibson, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and leader of the firm’s internet defamation group, authored column for the Eastern Hills Journal titled “False Online Reviews Hurt Businesses.” The column outlined the impact that false reviews can have on a company’s reputation. Gibson also outlines the steps consumers can take to identify fake reviews and prevent faulty purchasing decisions.
The article states:
“If you have ever paid attention to customer comments online - and let strangers influence your purchasing decisions as a result - you are in the overwhelming majority. In fact, nearly 80 percent of U.S. consumers consider what others have posted online before buying a product or service.
Back in 1999, before we were using the Internet daily, customer review sites were born beginning with Epinions.com. This site and others like it were launched to solicit honest, informed opinions about products and services as a consumer resource. Today, online reviews aren't always honest and they aren't always written with authenticity. More and more, business owners are posing as unhappy customers of their competition.
This new "business practice" is unjustly hurting businesses by misleading
consumers, and many don't realize that this practice is more than just unfair - it's illegal.
To read the entire article, visit the Eastern Hills Journal website.
