– 4 days ago @ consumerist.com: “Most anonymous online ‘reviews’ — whether over-the-top favorable or savagely harsh — are rubbish even when they’re real,” writes New York Post critic Steve Cuozzo. “Diners with an IQ greater than that of seaweed know it.” He points out that you’ll …

– 1 week ago @ marketwatch.com: CLARIFICATION: Though Yelp deems 20% to 25% of submitted reviews “suspicious,” a spokesman says these are filtered and unseen by the vast majority of users. The office of New York’s Attorney General announced Monday that it fined businesses over …

– 1 week ago @ huffingtonpost.com: It’s not easy writing fake reviews. One company that posted bogus praise online for its clients told its writers to make their reviews seem authentic by using fewer superlatives, throwing in slang and improving their grammar, according to New York’s …

– 1 week ago @ eater.com: New York has cracked down on fake Yelp reviews, and new research from Harvard Business School suggests that such vigilance might be necessary. According to a study (pdf) titled “Fake It Till You Make It,” nearly 16% of all Yelp restaurant reviews in …