The fake or incentivised reviews identified were removed. If we continue to find fake or incentivised reviews that attempt to increase your star rating, this may lead to restrictions being applied on your profile.
Pablo Sanchez, a manager of the moving company ServiMoving , noticed something strange online: a one-star review on their Google Maps page. We checked with the team to find out what had happened, which customer was unhappy, he explained to EL PAIS. A little while later, another one appeared, then another we started to get alarmed, he added. They quickly realized that the reviews weren't being written by real customers. We were baffled, he sighed. Shortly after, they found out what was really going on.
Consumers increasingly rely on social-media personalities to recommend products and signal what to buy, avoid, and trust. This relationship rests on a fragile premise: that influencer opinions reflect genuine experience, not undisclosed commercial orchestration. While early regulatory attention focused on covert product promotion, a parallel practice has quietly taken hold. Brands are now deploying influencers to undermine competitors by casting doubt or discouraging purchase under the guise of independent opinion.