Module 3
Reviews & Endorsements
Real opinions only. No gating, no buying, no faking.
Reviews and endorsements are social proof, but only when they are genuine. The FTC prohibits review gating, fake reviews, undisclosed insider reviews, and paying for reviews without disclosure. A 2023 FTC rule also makes it illegal to create or sell fake consumer reviews.
Key rules
- Do not suppress negative reviews or steer only happy customers to review platforms.
- Do not write, buy, or commission fake reviews, and do not use AI to generate fake reviews.
- Employees, family, and friends reviewing your product must disclose the relationship.
- Incentivized reviews must disclose the incentive clearly.
- Brands and agencies are responsible for monitoring the reviews they influence.
Do this, not that
Review gating
Ask all customers for feedback and send everyone the same review link.
Send satisfied customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private survey.
Why: Cherry-picking reviews misrepresents the real customer experience.
Incentives
Offer a small incentive to all reviewers and clearly disclose it.
Pay for five-star reviews or require a positive review to get a discount.
Why: Payment for positive reviews corrupts the review ecosystem and is illegal.
Insider reviews
Have employees or family members disclose their connection if they review.
Let staff post glowing reviews without saying they work for the company.
Why: Insiders have a bias that consumers deserve to know about.
Fake engagement
Grow followers and engagement organically.
Buy followers, likes, or comments to fake popularity.
Why: Artificial social proof deceives both consumers and platforms.
Testimonial control
Publish honest testimonials, even critical ones, and respond professionally.
Edit reviews to remove negatives or only show curated praise.
Why: Selective editing can make an average product look flawless.
AI-generated reviews
Use AI for drafting support content, not for posting fake customer reviews.
Generate dozens of five-star reviews and post them as real customers.
Why: The FTC's 2023 rule specifically bans fake or AI-generated consumer reviews.
Fix it: before and after
Risky
Loved your stay? Leave us a Google review. Had issues? Email us directly.
Fixed
How was your stay? Share your honest review on Google — good or bad, we read every one.
Why it works: Asks all customers the same way and does not steer negative feedback out of sight.
Risky
Post a 5-star review and we'll send you a $50 gift card!
Fixed
Leave an honest review and we'll send you a $5 coffee credit as a thank you. We welcome all ratings.
Why it works: Rewards honest feedback, not a specific star rating, and discloses the incentive.
Risky
A brand's marketing team posts reviews under fake names.
Fixed
Only genuine, verified purchasers are invited to review, and employees disclose their relationship if they do.
Why it works: Removes fake personas and requires insider disclosure.
What it costs to get wrong
The FTC's Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials carries civil penalties up to $50,120 per violation. The FTC has sued companies for review gating, fake review broker schemes, and suppressing negative reviews.
Module quiz
Pass with 80% or higher. You can retake as many times as you need.
Question 0 of 8
1. Review gating means:
2. It is legal to pay customers for five-star reviews as long as they are real people.
3. An employee reviews their own company's product. What must they do?
4. Which is allowed when soliciting reviews?
5. AI-generated reviews posted as if they came from real customers are:
6. A brand sees a negative review and asks the platform to remove it because it is 'unfair.' Is this compliant?
7. Buying followers and engagement is:
8. If you give reviewers a free product, the review must disclose: