{"id":3910,"date":"2018-01-04T19:45:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T19:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arielsheen.com\/?p=3910"},"modified":"2018-01-05T01:31:55","modified_gmt":"2018-01-05T01:31:55","slug":"real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Real News on Fake Amazon Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>A Case Study of Commodity Fetishism in the Age of Communicative Capitalism<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3937\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/communicativecapitalism\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?fit=960%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Just as industrial capitalism relied on the exploitation of labor, so does communicative capitalism rely on the exploitation of communication.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Communicative Capitalism\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Just as industrial capitalism relied on the exploitation of labor, so does communicative capitalism rely on the exploitation of communication.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?fit=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?fit=840%2C630&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3937\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?resize=840%2C630&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CommunicativeCapitalism.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Amazon has a serious problem with fake reviews populating their website. So much so that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/emmawoollacott\/2017\/09\/09\/exclusive-amazons-fake-review-problem-is-now-worse-than-ever\/#25af854a7c0f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forbes<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/nymag.com\/selectall\/2017\/12\/how-to-spot-fake-amazon-reviews.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NYMag<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2017\/05\/19\/scammers-elude-amazon-crackdown-on-fake-reviews-with-new-tricks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NYPost<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/how-to\/spot-fake-amazon-reviews-with-fakespot\/\">C|Net<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/fortune.com\/2016\/10\/27\/amazon-lawsuit-fake-reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fortune<\/a> are all writing\u00a0about it.<\/p>\n<p>After reviewing findings from data-based research by\u00a0Ming Ooi, one of the co-founders of Fakespot, he offers this blunt assessment of Amazon\u2019s reviews ecosystem: \u201cAbout 40 percent of reviews we see on Amazon are unreliable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This video also goes details the issue:<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kdLI62JKpCk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In this blog post I&#8217;m going to examine to distinct types of fake reviews, examine it&#8217;s commercial and political effects and then outline how it is that Amazon should be handling them.<\/p>\n<p>Why go through the work of explaining this?<\/p>\n<p>For one, as someone that has almost <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/\">150 book reviews<\/a> on their website as a means of monetization, I find sending referral traffic to a website with a consumer rating function that has been hijacked by marketers to be highly unethical.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, I find the unresponsiveness of Amazon to taking simple steps to prevent this to be reflective of a corporate environment that<\/p>\n<p>Let me give you two case study examples of products that I&#8217;ve recently come across that illustrate what I mean.<\/p>\n<h3>Freewrite: The Juicero of Word Processing<\/h3>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3911\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/top_render_annotated-0-0-png\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite ariel sheen\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;ariel sheen freewrite&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?fit=840%2C560&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3911\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?resize=840%2C560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/top_render_annotated.0.0.png.jpeg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I use the same computer for word processing as I do for my <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/category\/marketing\/\">marketing business<\/a>, I know how susceptible to distraction the various alerts I have set up and immediate access to the internet can be. Thus when I first saw the Kickstarter ad for the <a href=\"https:\/\/getfreewrite.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Freewrite<\/a> I was interested. I clicked the sponsored post in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ArielVSheen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my Facebook<\/a>\u00a0feed, and began to read their promotional literature. As I did, my initial excitement on a new tool faded on learning of it&#8217;s features and price.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike others that have <a href=\"https:\/\/the-digital-reader.com\/2016\/05\/09\/freewrite-how-not-to-do-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">written<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2016\/may\/27\/freewrite-hipster-typewriter-technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">negative<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/accidentallyinspired.com\/2016\/02\/25\/an-open-letter-to-the-creators-of-freewrite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reviews<\/a> of the <a href=\"http:\/\/mashable.com\/2016\/02\/24\/freewrite-word-processor\/#ApWwf96CUEq3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">product<\/a> after using it, I could tell without even investing $550 into it that it was, quoting Mashable, pretentious hipster nonsense.<\/p>\n<h3>Identifying Fake Amazon Reviews<\/h3>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3918\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-55-39-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?fit=1362%2C412&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1362,412\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite Ariel sheen\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?fit=300%2C91&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?fit=840%2C254&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3918\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?resize=840%2C254&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?resize=1024%2C310&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?resize=300%2C91&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?resize=768%2C232&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?resize=1200%2C363&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.55.39-AM.png?w=1362&amp;ssl=1 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Leading up to Christmas, I started to see ads announcing that the second generation of the product had been released. Hopeful at first that maybe they&#8217;d changed their product to address what I and others saw as flaws in it&#8217;s features, I was disappointed to learn that they hadn&#8217;t. And I was also confused. Fully aware that my preferences aren&#8217;t universal, I still surprised at the high number of gushing customer review ratings on Amazon.<\/p>\n<p>When I started to dig deeper I noticed a number of abnormalities in those people that were reviewing it. For one, you&#8217;ll notice that a large number of the 5 star reviews are all written by people that have only ever reviewed one product: The FreeWrite.<\/p>\n<div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":1,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arielsheen.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\\\/\"}' id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-3910 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-26-40-am\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 85vw, 150px\" data-attachment-id=\"3912\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-26-40-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?fit=1062%2C972&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1062,972\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite marketing scam 1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?fit=300%2C275&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.40-AM.png?fit=840%2C769&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-26-53-am\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 85vw, 150px\" data-attachment-id=\"3913\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-26-53-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?fit=1066%2C972&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1066,972\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite marketing scam 3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?fit=300%2C274&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.26.53-AM.png?fit=840%2C766&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-27-50-am\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 85vw, 150px\" data-attachment-id=\"3914\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-27-50-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?fit=1060%2C966&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1060,966\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite marketing scam 3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?fit=300%2C273&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.27.50-AM.png?fit=840%2C765&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-31-08-am\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 85vw, 150px\" data-attachment-id=\"3915\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-31-08-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?fit=1054%2C1214&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1054,1214\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite marketing scam 4\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?fit=260%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.31.08-AM.png?fit=840%2C968&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-34-11-am\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 85vw, 150px\" data-attachment-id=\"3916\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-34-11-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?fit=1058%2C1172&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1058,1172\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite marketing scam 5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?fit=271%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.34.11-AM.png?fit=840%2C931&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-36-35-am\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 85vw, 150px\" data-attachment-id=\"3917\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-1-36-35-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?fit=1060%2C1166&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1060,1166\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"freewrite marketing scam 6\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?fit=273%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-1.36.35-AM.png?fit=840%2C924&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>I didn&#8217;t take screenshots of them all, but if you look at some of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Freewrite-Distraction-Free-Typewriter-Frontlight-Mechanical\/dp\/B01GGE8CP8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">other reviews\u00a0<\/a>you&#8217;ll notice that a lot of them also have only one or two reviews for items that were written years ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>31 of the 42 reviews, or 74% of the 5 star reviews for FreeWrite all occur within a nine day period<\/strong> &#8211; between November 21st and November 30th 2016. Here&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1iQB8jlWvkNhzmDcxaGpIuDaGnMBwPT1bBWxMXvAoWis\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the data from Amazon<\/a> that I collected should you want to review the numbers yourself. Many of them have a length and style that is directly mirrors FreeWrite&#8217;s own marketing material and at least two reviews come from those that were incentivized to write it based upon being given the product for free. Why else, after all, would someone write a 2,300 word review of it?<\/p>\n<h3>Marketing Authenticity Whilst Acting Suspiciously<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3919\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-2-07-48-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?fit=2384%2C1328&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2384,1328\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Clapboss\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Ariel Sheen marketing&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?fit=300%2C167&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?fit=840%2C468&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3919\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?resize=840%2C468&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?resize=1024%2C570&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?resize=300%2C167&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?resize=768%2C428&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?resize=1200%2C668&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.07.48-AM.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3920\" style=\"width: 258px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3920\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-2-00-23-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?fit=1004%2C1168&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1004,1168\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screen Shot 2018-01-04 at 2.00.23 AM\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?fit=258%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?fit=840%2C977&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-3920 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?resize=258%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"258\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?resize=258%2C300&amp;ssl=1 258w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?resize=768%2C893&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?resize=880%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 880w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-2.00.23-AM.png?w=1004&amp;ssl=1 1004w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 258px) 85vw, 258px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Despite what their video would have you believe, Stephen King DOES NOT endorse FreeWrite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Above I said that FreeWrite is like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2017\/9\/1\/16243356\/juicero-shut-down-lay-off-refund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Juicero<\/a>. How so? Well, they both created much hyped, over-priced products that poorly deliver on their promises. Like Douglas Evans, founder of Juicero, they then moved on to another project that is at it&#8217;s core, well, ridiculous.<\/p>\n<p>Evans is now marketing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/shortcuts\/2018\/jan\/03\/raw-water-the-unsterilised-health-craze-that-could-give-you-diarrhoea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unproven benefits<\/a> of the dubiously named <a href=\"http:\/\/www.grubstreet.com\/2018\/01\/juicero-founder-doug-evans-now-promotes-unfiltered-raw-water.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">raw water<\/a>\u00a0he sells while AstroHaus tried to bring to market ClapBoss &#8211; a device that mandates you spend money and time programming a device that you can just as easily do without. <strong>It wasn&#8217;t just schadenfreude that made me happy to see that this project didn&#8217;t get funded, but a deep and genuine disdain for marketing language that mobilizes concepts such as &#8220;Freedom&#8221; and &#8220;Control Over Your Life&#8221; to encourages people to buy products such as these<\/strong>. I&#8217;d go so far as to venture that any person that would prefer a $550 FreeWrite to $510 dollars worth of <a href=\"http:\/\/a.co\/89N8kb2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">books<\/a> and some notebooks and pen or word processing software like <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2CpQKxh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scrivener<\/a> aren&#8217;t real writers. That said, let me add I&#8217;ve never used Scrivener, I wasn&#8217;t paid to point this out and that if you ascribe to a historical materialist view of the world you&#8217;ll notice a troubling paradox in the reviews of products that could actually lead to freedom and control over your life.<\/p>\n<h3>Financial Incentive Not Sole Factor For Fake Reviews<\/h3>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3925\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size.jpg?fit=500%2C352&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,352\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"white genocide communist meme\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;ariel sheen white genocide george ciccariello-maher&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size.jpg?fit=300%2C211&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size.jpg?fit=500%2C352&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3925\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size.jpg?resize=500%2C352&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-says-commiememe-web-size.jpg?resize=300%2C211&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 85vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As a subject area expert, George Ciccariello-Maher frequently writes, lectures and speaks on the subject of Venezuela and American political economy.\u00a0One of my favorite history books of the past several years, in fact, was <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/19\/review-of-we-created-chavez-a-peoples-history-of-the-venezuelan-revolution\/\">We Created Chavez<\/a>\u00a0by GCM. In <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/19\/review-of-we-created-chavez-a-peoples-history-of-the-venezuelan-revolution\/\">my review <\/a>of the book I favorably compared it&#8217;s prose to that found in C. L. R. James&#8217; work on the <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2CsCHab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Haitian Revolution The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L&#8217;Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution<\/a>, a historian that&#8217;s quoted several times in the book.<\/p>\n<p>Full disclosure, thought we&#8217;ve never met &#8211; we did both present research at the <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RM2013SSSProgram.pdf\">2013 Rethinking Marxism: Surplus, Solidarity and Sufficiency 2013 Conference<\/a>\u00a0at UMASS Amherst &#8211; me critically defending the democratically elected government of Venezuela and\u00a0Bolivarianism, he on <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2lV3Efu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">decolonizing dialectics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For those familiar with American history and political economy and that aren&#8217;t white nationalists, the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ciccmaher\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tweets<\/a> for which he received negative\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/professor-who-called-for-white-genocide-says-hes-been-hired-by-nyu\/article\/2644777\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">press<\/a>\u00a0was funny, neigh, hilarious. Those that didn&#8217;t like it &#8211; which was much of the commentariat &#8211; didn&#8217;t get it and thus misrepresented views.\u00a0In an interview GCM gave with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.philly.com\/philly\/news\/Drexel-officials-Professor-George-Ciccariello-Mahers-White-Genocide-tweet-was-utterly-reprehensible.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Inquirer<\/a>, he explains as follows (Link to BET&#8217;s coverage of the State Farm Insurance tweet added by me):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;On Christmas Eve, I sent a satirical tweet about an imaginary concept, &#8216;white genocide,'&#8221; For those who haven&#8217;t bothered to do their research, &#8216;white genocide&#8217; is an idea invented by white supremacists and used to denounce everything from interracial relationships to multicultural policies (and most recently, against a tweet by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bet.com\/news\/national\/2016\/12\/25\/look--state-farm-ad-featuring-interracial-couple-has-racist-trol.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State Farm Insurance<\/a>). It is a figment of the racist imagination, it should be mocked, and I&#8217;m glad to have mocked it.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>Historical Ignorance and Revisionism in Amazon Reviews<\/h3>\n<h3><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3930\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/white-genocide-gcm\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?fit=2308%2C1216&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2308,1216\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"white genocide GCM\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;ariel sheen george ciccariello-maher maher white genocide&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?fit=300%2C158&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?fit=840%2C443&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3930\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?resize=840%2C443&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?resize=1024%2C540&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?resize=300%2C158&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?resize=768%2C405&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?resize=1200%2C632&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/white-genocide-GCM.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>Following this the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailystormer.red\/tag\/george-ciccariello-maher\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">White Nationalist<\/a> press got upset and mobilized their base, which also happens to have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/1356932042000186523?journalCode=cjla20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">intersectional affinities<\/a> with Venezuelans in Miami. The above screen shot shows how Google searches for &#8220;White Genocide&#8221; and &#8220;George Ciccariello-Maher&#8221; both peaked following his tweet going viral.<\/p>\n<p>The ramifications of the Tweet wasn&#8217;t just Google searches, however, but a campaign of harassment and death threats that lead to GCM being placed on leave and an attempt at delegitimizing his academic work via the means that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sellerlabs.com\/blog\/10-amazon-statistics-will-shock-every-seller\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most used online means of commerce in America<\/a> &#8211; Amazon.<\/p>\n<h3>Amazon Reviews and The World Turned Inside Out<\/h3>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3926\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/screen-shot-2018-01-04-at-4-29-14-pm\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?fit=1718%2C1266&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1718,1266\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screen Shot 2018-01-04 at 4.29.14 PM\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?fit=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?fit=840%2C619&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3926\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?resize=840%2C619&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?resize=1024%2C755&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?resize=300%2C221&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?resize=768%2C566&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?resize=1200%2C884&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Screen-Shot-2018-01-04-at-4.29.14-PM.png?w=1718&amp;ssl=1 1718w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The above Amazon user <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/profile\/amzn1.account.AHTKCYMHPNGBIRN3UOAMG7LDRNXQ\/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdp?ie=UTF8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">yentl&#8217;s sole contributions to Amazon<\/a>\u00a0are typical of others like it in level of insight and engagement following the uproar over two tweets by GCM. In fact, the seven reviews by yentl shown above are all for books written, translated or co-edited by George Ciccariello-Maher and are all the same &#8211; &#8220;It makes me want to Vomit!&#8221;. Similar depth of insight and engagement with the text abounds in other reviews.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t take the time to go through all of his books on Amazon, but it&#8217;s worth noting that\u00a042 of the 63 review for <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2qoTU2K\">We Created Chavez\u00a0<\/a>occur within a one week period in March of 2017 and a 3 day period in December of 2016. For those that want to check my methods, feel free to review\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1Iy83TCxG6h1-9Qyzf7WwVZ0bd4AiFpDWfC6dGryPECQ\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this data sheet<\/a>\u00a0I made.<\/p>\n<h3>Amazon and Authentic Reviews<\/h3>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3934\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/fmhs65yf54hj4a1-medium\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FMHS65YF54HJ4A1.MEDIUM.jpg?fit=560%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"560,200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"marketing lies\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FMHS65YF54HJ4A1.MEDIUM.jpg?fit=300%2C107&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FMHS65YF54HJ4A1.MEDIUM.jpg?fit=560%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3934\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FMHS65YF54HJ4A1.MEDIUM.jpg?resize=560%2C200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FMHS65YF54HJ4A1.MEDIUM.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/FMHS65YF54HJ4A1.MEDIUM.jpg?resize=300%2C107&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 85vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With these two cases in mind, it&#8217;s easy to see that\u00a0the majority of positive reviews are done from financial motivation and those that are negative are ideological in origin. It&#8217;s also easy to see how Amazon can help prevent these sorts of false distortions of reality from being considered real.<\/p>\n<p>For one monitoring negative or positive spikes in reviews and flagging them for review prior to publication.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly Amazon needs to take Abuse Reports seriously. I&#8217;ve reported a number of reviews that are clearly either spam or ideologically motivated only to see that several days, weeks, months later that they remain online as a genuine &#8220;experience&#8221; of the product.<\/p>\n<p>Since Amazon claims they want to be the brand of <a href=\"https:\/\/seekingalpha.com\/article\/4107984-amazon-built-greatness-built-profitability\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Customer Experience<\/a>, they need to address this. Now.\u00a0While the tenor of political discourse is <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/29\/don-berna\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no where near as bad as it is elsewhere<\/a>, there needs to be a greater degree of vigilance to ensure honest communication about the merits of products and worldview. What&#8217;s at stake here isn&#8217;t just about whether or not someone chooses to buy something &#8211; but the need to be vigilant towards a platform with &#8220;democratic aspirations&#8221; from inadvertently \u00a0promoting the widening and deepening of\u00a0false consciousness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Case Study of Commodity Fetishism in the Age of Communicative Capitalism Amazon has a serious problem with fake reviews populating their website. So much so that Forbes, NYMag, NYPost,\u00a0C|Net, and Fortune are all writing\u00a0about it. After reviewing findings from data-based research by\u00a0Ming Ooi, one of the co-founders of Fakespot, he offers this blunt assessment &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/real-news-on-fake-amazon-reviews\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Real News on Fake Amazon Reviews&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[88,90,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eclectic-intellect","category-marketing","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8e7kf-114","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3910"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3943,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3910\/revisions\/3943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}