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Comment by macspoofing | Hacker News Reader

If many companies are doing it, and many are forced (or feel forced) to do it in order to compete, then it isn't fair to just single one or two of them for public shaming via a publicly funded broadcaster. There's also libel ... maybe the threshold of evidence is high enough to write an article about some unnamed company buying reviews, but not high enough to hold up in court.

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> If many companies are doing it, and many are forced (or feel forced) to do it in order to compete, then it isn't fair to just single one or two of them for public shaming via a publicly funded broadcaster.

Sorry but if you're doing shady shit, it's no defence that everyone else is doing it too.

In a corrupt society, you get nowhere being morally absolute. There’s different shades of shady, but you only have one life to live, and depending on the circumstances, your best option might be to play ball.

Push comes to shove, people are going to choose to feed their family. Apple doing fake reviews and a struggling low profit restaurant because all the other restaurants are inflating their reviews are different circumstances.

Not a direct reply to anything in the thread, but I felt it's fairly on-topic to point out something I just realized with myself on seeing the n+1st headline and now wonder how long ago my default reaction evolved to this.

Watching the ever-normalizing review gaming and incentives to _not_ fix them, I am well past caring about finding out a business has bought a review.

My favorite local tasting room? I imagine they have the resources to invest in gaming, but I figure they'd stand their ground as long as possible out of a sense of integrity (and I would appreciate them all the more for this). Either way, good for them; I hope to enjoy many more years of their service[0].

My favorite m&p hole-in-the-wall? They don't exactly have a line out the door of raving, excited customers. And, I don't think they have the financial means to play ball. I root for them all the same.

[0] ...provided it doesn't turn for the worse.

If everybody is doing it, it is known, and Google doesn't address it, what do you do as a business? Sue Google, who certainly has a "no warranty" clause in their ToS about reviews? No, of course you buy fake reviews too. I have trouble blaming them here. Losing customers for the sake of your sense of righteousness helps no one.

"In American courts, the burden of proof rests with the person who brings a claim of libel. In British courts, the author or journalist has the burden of proof, and typically loses."

(https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/03/21/394273902/...)

This a well-known issue with british libel law. The UK needs to reform to stay relevant.

I'm not sure this would be better. I could claim you murdered 5 puppies last year, how would you go on to proof that you did not?

And I could claim that you love Madonna's latest album.

Somehow the rest of the world gets by with the opposite burden of proof just fine.

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