Samsung busted for fake reviews; hands over $340,000 in fines

Just in case you thought that getting caught posting fake reviews was unlikely, Samsung comes along and demonstrates just how easy it is to get busted.

According to The Verge, Samsung was just fined by Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) a whopping $340,000 for hiring two marketing firms that undertook extensive efforts to pump up positive reviews, downplay negative ones, and generally trash Samsung’s competitors.

The FTC notes…

“…that the company paid people to “highlight the shortcomings of competing products.” The commission did dig up a lot more nefarious activity related to Samsung’s commenters, though. The list of infractions includes the “disinfection of negative news about Samsung products,” “palindromic Samsung product marketing,” and the positive evaluation of Samsung products.”

So, keep in mind that posting fake reviews is just like an athlete taking steroids. Yes, you may get away with it for a while, but eventually you’ll get Armstronged!