Faking It

This piece of investigative journalism exposes the booming business of fake online reviews − by attempting to fake out the fakers. We pose as a new business, build an online presence for our pretend company and use it to take viewers deep inside the murky world of online deception. Since so many of us go online to see what other customers are saying about the latest restaurant, hotel or consumer product, we wanted to know: should we trust those reviews? How easy is it for a company to fake a good reputation and boost their bottom line? We use unconventional journalistic techniques to get answers and uncover an industry devoted to helping businesses mislead consumers, including an online marketplace where companies can buy glowing reviews for five dollars − and get them posted on leading review sites. Using hidden cameras, we capture companies offering to write and post other fake reviews for us.