Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
BREAKING: Not All Internet Reviews Are Real
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 20, 2011
Modified Aug 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 20, 2011
Modified Aug 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
With more and more consumers needing to be told where to eat, what to buy, and the best place to be jailed, businesses see a legitimate reason to outsource illegitimate, positive reviews of their products and services. The stakes are high! One Craigslist ad asking jobseekers (AKA everyone) to "Write Yelp Reviews" is looking for people who "have an active Yelp account and would like to make very easy money." You mean, we can't trust everything we read on the internet?
The Times shatters out innocence (as usual) by detailing the "boundless demand for positive reviews" that has made praise a hot, cheap commodity on websites like Yelp, Citysearch and Amazon. One freelance writer cranks out gushing compliments on Amazon for a "review factory" at $10 apiece, using phrases like "must-read" and "a lifetime's worth of wisdom."
What results is that the internet marketplace becomes, as one website owner puts it, Lake Woebegon, where "everyone is above average." To maintain the integrity of the reviews, a team from Cornell (hilariously photographed here in a hotel room, presumably before an academic ménage à trois) has developed an algorithm to spot fakes, which works "90 percent of the time." For instance, a bogus reviewer of a hotel in Chicago would be light on the description of the hotel, but heavy on "why they were in Chicago. They also used words like "I" and "me" more frequently, as if to underline their own credibility."
It's unclear whether or not the team is developing an algorithm to shame the most obnoxious Yelp reviewers, who should know that there's nothing "Elite" about vomiting as many opinions as humanly possible onto the internet.
Tagged
amazon
astroturfing
craigslist
internet
reviews
yelp
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Peepapalooza: NYC is heading to the Hudson Valley to watch the leaves
Don't be surprised if you run into someone from your building in Beacon.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
Published Oct 24, 2026 at 10:46 a.m. ET
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
The woman is in stable condition, police said, but several people were stabbed.
By
Ryan Kost
News
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
The woman is in stable condition, police said, but several people were stabbed.
By
Ryan Kost
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
By
Michael Sol Warren
5 men charged with trespassing in 2 Manhattan manhole cases
By
Charles Lane
6-year-old girl breaks leg after getting hit by falling bricks in Queens
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .