Today The Daily Mail profiled two authors allegedly targeted by fake reviews on Amazon.
Rosie Allison’s first novel, The Very Thought Of You, received 16 one-star reviews on Amazon after she was longlisted for this year’s Orange Prize. According to the article, author Polly Samson was targeted by another set of online critics because she is married to Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour.
The article reports: “Guidelines set by Amazon state that reviews should not be posted by anyone with a financial interest or a competing book. But the online giant accepts anonymous reviews from anyone with a customer account. This has led PR firms to provide favourable reviews of new books, at a price. Nathan Barker, of Reputation 24/7, offers a service starting at £5,000.”
