yelp sucks

You know those online reviews you read on websites like yelp.com, amazon.com and Google Local? They often seem too good to be true.That's because sometimes they are.New York state's attorney general recently announced a settlement in which 19 companies will pay $350,000 in penalties for writing fake online reviews for restaurants, nightclubs and other businesses.These…

Relying on online consumer reviews to find a contractor or pick a blender may be dicey. In September, the New York attorney general fined 19 companies $350,000 for writing fake online reviews for businesses. The problem is even more pervasive than that—a new study from researchers at Harvard Business School and Boston University estimates that…