myTukar’s open letter to Carsome puts spotlight on gaming Google/FB reviews for 5-star rating practice
myTukar has issued an open letter to Carsome slamming the practice of incentivising users to give 5-star reviews in return for a chance to win prizes.
This was in reference to a recent campaign by Carsome where 5-star reviews posted with the most ‘likes’ can stand a chance to win prizes worth RM60,000 including the latest iPhone 15 Pro.
Google actually prohibits such behaviour. This type of promotion falls under the “Deceptive content & behaviour” section of Google’s User Contributed Content Policy.
According to Google, these reviews constitute fake engagement and will be removed. Google’s policies can be read here, and there is a screenshot of it below.
User contributed reviews serve as a valuable resource for consumers seeking informed purchases. By perusing reviews, consumers can gauge a business’s quality, service standards, and overall reputation conveniently in one location.
Prior customers’ experiences, shared through reviews, empower prospective buyers to make well-informed decisions tailored to their needs. It’s common these days to see users asking “gaiz, so and so service okay tak?” on social media.
However, when review platforms become inundated with fabricated, spam-like, or biased reviews, it can sow confusion among consumers and undermine the review platform’s trustworthiness.
Previously we have had instances where users ganged up and bombed an establishment’s reviews with low-star negative reviews as a form of boycott. It did not last long, as Google removed the fake reviews swiftly. Now that this has come to light, will Google act swiftly in this situation as well?