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My approach is to only look at the reviews with photos. That's usually a good way to find high-quality, detailed reviews. Just click in the customer photos section and you can scroll through the reviews.

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This is purely anecdotal, but I've noticed recently a trend of reviews that start with "I was sent this product for free in exchange for an honest review..." and they almost always include photos. True, these are easy enough to skim over, but people planting fake reviews could also be getting smarter and making their reviews seem real by including pictures.

They're not necessarily fake, but they may be incentivised. I've had offers of a £5 voucher for a photo review or £10 for a video (the product was a £15 solar panel). No idea what happens if you slate the product, but amazon would probably refund you if it was that bad.

Sellers are well aware how much of a boost a photo or video from a verified purchase can give.

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