Amazon sues 1,114 sellers of 'inauthentic' reviews
Amazon is going after 1,114 "John Does" who have allegedly posted "false, misleading, and inauthentic" paid reviews on the site.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Seattle, the company said the defendants, whose real names they don't yet know, are promising five-star reviews for as little as $5 on the website Fiverr.com. The reviewers are being paid by sellers looking to boost their products, but Amazon said the false reviews are affecting its brand, writing in its complaint: "While small in number, these reviews can significantly undermine the trust that consumers and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers place in Amazon."
Amazon said that during its investigation, it bought fake customer reviews on Fiverr from people who used several accounts and unique IP addresses to avoid being caught, the BBC reports. Fiverr is not a defendant in the lawsuit, and said it is working with Amazon to put an end to fraudulent reviews.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
-
Crossword: November 12, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Trespasses: a ‘devastating’ Irish love storyThe Week Recommends Lola Petticrew ‘steals the show’ in TV adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s novel
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
