![]() “I think they could do better vetting out reviews that are fake versus doctored or even like mine, where they spoof a check-in,” PG said, noting that he found a way to “check-in” on Yelp to places he’d never actually been to. PG agrees: Yelp needs better “Elite” enforcement. It did say it has closed accounts that Dean flagged.ĭean says that’s not enough. Yelp told us it’s “very rare” for Elites to leave compensated reviews, but didn’t say exactly how often that happens. if we catch a Yelp user (including Elites) writing (or removing) reviews for compensation we will remove their reviews and close their account.” Yelp told us it “strictly prohibits offering payment for reviews” and uses tech tools and “human moderation” to sweep for fake reviews. We asked Yelp about its Elites - those “real people” with “real reviews” – some being paid to post fake reviews. “These groups come and go, change names and I don’t see that there’s any proactive efforts by Facebook to deal with it,” Dean said. ![]() Facebook and Instagram then removed each one for violating their policies. We flagged several groups and pages for them. Instagram said, “we don’t allow people to post or solicit fake or misleading reviews.”įacebook told us it removes content that engages in, promotes, encourages, or facilitates fake reviews. We asked Facebook and Instagram about these groups. When our team messaged people in those groups, one former Yelp Elite told us he was part of an invitation-only online chat that included a few thousand Yelp Elite members who are paid $25 to $50 per fake review. “This is a public group!” Dean said, pointing to a Facebook group she had pulled up on her computer monitor with plenty of recent posts. She pointed us to Instagram pages, Facebook groups, and other places where cash-for-review offers appear daily - in plain sight. ![]() This all began after she started questioning patient testimonials about one of her own doctors.ĭean says PG is not the only Yelp Elite who’s posting fakes. “It makes me actually angry about what’s going on, because it’s being allowed,” Kay Dean said of these paid reviews.įrom the spare bedroom in her San Jose home, Dean has launched a crusade and a Youtube channel, spending countless hours outing reviewers she feels are fishy. “Well, it was COVID and you know, I'm a little behind on a couple of my payments, and I thought, well, you know what? I get paid for it,” PG said. Consumer Investigator Chris Chmura explains how to spot a fake review online.
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