Fake reviews and smear campaigns against your business

A wave of false reviews can come from a competitor, a former employee or a paid service. Here is how to fight back.

Most bad reviews are real opinions from real customers, and the law protects them. Fake ones are different.

Signs a review is fake

The reviewer was never a customer
Several reviews appear within hours of each other
The wording repeats across accounts
The accounts have no other history or review only one competitor's rivals

Platform removal

Google, Yelp and others ban reviews from people with no real experience of the business and reviews posted by competitors. A report that cites the exact policy and attaches proof works better than a general complaint.

Legal claims

A false statement of fact in a review can be defamation or business disparagement. When a competitor is behind it, federal false advertising law under the Lanham Act may apply. The Federal Trade Commission also has a rule banning fake reviews, with civil penalties.

What you cannot do

Federal law bars contract terms that stop customers from posting honest reviews. Threatening a real customer over a real opinion is likely to fail and to draw more attention.

A practical order of work

Check your records to confirm the reviewer was never a customer. Report with evidence. Reply once in public, calmly. If the reviews keep coming, a lawyer can seek the identity of the accounts through the court.