In Chinese they're called
shuijun – the "water army" – fake customers paid by companies to write positive online reviews of their products, or negatively review those of their rivals.
Fake posts aim to attract attention from netizens with breathless reviews or slanderous claims. But according to a recent report by Legal Daily, they could be having a significant distorting impact because many online shoppers base their purchasing decisions on the customer reviews they read.
There are now fears that shuijun are eroding faith not just in products and brands, but in online shopping as a whole. Legal Daily reports that fake reviews provoke widespread discussion because customers have few other points of reference.
Legal Daily stressed that regulators needed to crack down on fake reviews and build a transparent mechanism by which online purchases could be evaluated. Legitimate reviews are a powerful way to gauge the quality of products and companies, but stronger supervision is needed.
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