How to spot fake reviews on Amazon and other sites online
With the holidays around the corner, I’m gearing up for a whole lot of online shopping between now and Christmas. And while I’m glad the FTC is finally cracking down on fake and paid reviews, let’s be real — it’s not going to catch every bogus review out there.
So, here’s my go-to guide for spotting fake reviews and finding the real deal before you hit “Buy Now.”
Step 1: Use a site that does it for you
Fakespot vets reviews on Amazon, Walmart, eBay and lots of other sites and shows you how they score. I love that it gives you a letter rating. Anything graded C or below screams “Walk away!” to me. The best part? Fakespot’s free.
There’s another site like Fakespot called ReviewMeta. Instead of a letter grade, ReviewMeta shows an adjusted rating for the product, removing what it considers to be fake reviews.
You can use it for free by simply pasting the Amazon URL into ReviewMeta’s website or installing their browser extension.
(Btw, I love those Souper Cubes! They make a great gift, too.)
Step 2: Use your noggin
Fakespot and ReviewMeta aren’t foolproof. The AI they use is getting smarter, but so is the AI churning out sham reviews. Here are some tricks to try:
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