Authors Speak Out Against Fake Reviews & Sock Puppet Accounts

Ian Rankin and dozens of other authors spoke out against the practice of writing fake reviews. The following is from an open letter published in the Telegraph:

We condemn this behaviour, and commit never to use such tactics. But the only lasting solution is for readers to take possession of the process. The internet belongs to us all. Honest and heartfelt reviews, good or bad, enthusiastic or disapproving, can drown out the phoney voices, and underhand tactics will be marginalised to the point of irrelevance. No single author, however devious, can compete with the whole community.

You can read the rest here: Authors condemn fake internet reviews.

I think that's a great idea! Everyone outraged by these fake reviews should go to their favorite on-line book store and write a review.  I've reviewed only a tiny fraction of the books I've read. For instance, on this blog I've written again and again how much I love Jim Butcher's Dresden series but I've never given him a review.

Time to change that!

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Photo credit: Dick Penn