Purchased reviews have become so prodigious on IMDB that the numerical ratings for television shows and movies, and the user reviews for them should be considered fraudulent and merit-less.
Going to the page of any movie or television show, you can find multiple user reviews giving that show 10/10 and offering words of non-specific and over-sensationalized acclaim. The accounts may have vaguely american sounding names like Marker instead of Mark, or Rethomas instead of Thomas, or they will have names common to South Asia. These user accounts will often times only have the one fake review.
It is no secret that there are businesses established in Southern Asia that have employs writers to write fake reviews for money, as it has proven to increase the sales of the product they are schilling.
I don't have a solution, and I realize what a difficult problem it is to address, but I do believe it is a large problem that is being ignored.
I guess I would like an acknowledgement by IMDB that they are aware of the issue, and I'd like to know what they are doing to address it. I would also like to encourage anyone with any ideas or insight on this issue to share your thoughts.
Thanks.
Going to the page of any movie or television show, you can find multiple user reviews giving that show 10/10 and offering words of non-specific and over-sensationalized acclaim. The accounts may have vaguely american sounding names like Marker instead of Mark, or Rethomas instead of Thomas, or they will have names common to South Asia. These user accounts will often times only have the one fake review.
It is no secret that there are businesses established in Southern Asia that have employs writers to write fake reviews for money, as it has proven to increase the sales of the product they are schilling.
I don't have a solution, and I realize what a difficult problem it is to address, but I do believe it is a large problem that is being ignored.
I guess I would like an acknowledgement by IMDB that they are aware of the issue, and I'd like to know what they are doing to address it. I would also like to encourage anyone with any ideas or insight on this issue to share your thoughts.
Thanks.
Posted 2 years ago
Col Needham, Official Rep
Thank you for sharing your concern, all we can say about voting is covered in the FAQ at https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/track-movies-tv/faq-for-imdb-ratings/G67Y87TFYYP6TWAV
More information on reviews is spread across the help via https://help.imdb.com/search/all?term=user+reviews
More information on reviews is spread across the help via https://help.imdb.com/search/all?term=user+reviews
There is not one section of this FAQ that addresses the issue of companies that are paid to review films and tv shows positively without merit.
I am asking specifically for you to acknowledge the problem and to explain to us users what you are doing to mitigate it (tho I know the answer is nothing, I want to hear you say it).
I am asking specifically for you to acknowledge the problem and to explain to us users what you are doing to mitigate it (tho I know the answer is nothing, I want to hear you say it).
(Edited)
Marco