BBC Programme Reports On How Fake Online Reviews Are Hitting Reputable Businesses

A special report on BBC TV highlights the problems facing businesses and consumers because of inadequate checks by website review publishers. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) July 23, 2010 - A campaign started by the online reassurance and reputation resource, KwikChex.com, has been the subject of a BBC TV report. The BBC's flagship technology programme, 'Click' produced a special report which highlighted how reputable and blameless businesses are being attacked and defamed online on resources such as Google Maps Reviews.

The programme featured one particular case that had been flagged to the BBC by KwikChex - the story of a particularly nasty attack on UK business, Cream Photography - which spiralled into an assault on over 150 photographic and wedding supply companies across the UK. It highlighted how the maligned businesses were struggling to have what was an obvious and vicious spam attack removed from the Google resource.

A KwikChex spokesperson said: "Having the BBC on board will help publicise this serious problem - and we are pleased to ave been able to contribute so significantly to the content of the programme. We have been able to help many businesses to restore and enhance their online reputation, including some of those in the Cream Photography case, but the problem is huge and the participation of the media is vital - in fact, even though the BBC have been in contact with Google and they have responded by saying they 'have software in place to automatically detect spam reviews', we are just about to submit reports to them about the Cream Photography case, because we have found a dozen businesses that are still suffering from these particular reviews - months after the initial alarm was raised to Google."

He added: our job is actually to enhance and promote trusted, reputable businesses on the worldwide web - but we are certainly not going to drop the ball on this subject until online review publishers improve their resources to better protect decent businesses and to provide a higher degree of truthfulness to consumers."

An article about the BBC report is on the Click website and the full programme can be watched on the internet in the UK on the BBC iPlayer

More information on this and upcoming KwikChex initiatives are available on the KwikChex website and on their campaigning site, feedblack.com

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