The Fake Review Epidemic: Why Trust Is Broken

For more than a decade, online reviews were meant to simplify our lives. A shortcut to truth. A way to choose a hotel we’d love, a restaurant that wouldn’t disappoint, or an experience worthy of our time and money.

But that promise has eroded.
Quietly. Systemically. Globally.

There was a time when the internet felt human.
Social media felt alive — messy, funny, opinionated, imperfect, and very clearly real. When someone recommended a hotel, a café, or a local service, you trusted that it came from an actual person.

Earlier this year, I was travelling with my parents for their 49th wedding anniversary — a milestone that felt tender, important, and irreplaceable. Vienna had always been on my mum’s dream list, and I wanted to make the trip unforgettable.

So I did what millions of people do every day:
I researched.
Endlessly.