[DarkTree]

For sure, this is a prime example of Goodhart's law in action. Before Amazon came along, I rarely depended on reading reviews before buying a product. Yes, there were definitely sites where reviews helped persuade a purchase, for example Newegg.com, but at that time it wasn't required that I scour a list of reviews before buying a product, it was more of a scavenger hunt around the internet for personal reviews/blogs, or just not at all. Then Amazon came along, and it transformed the way I buy products.

But now, you're right. It has gotten so difficult to trust any review and I often find myself ping-ponging around competing products trying to intuit what reviews are the least fake. Good reviews have simply become a target that don't necessarily signal a good product.

[animal531]

Sounds like a business opportunity for someone to introduce the meta review, which will review and rank all reviews for a given product and/or search.