Today's blog post is about fake reviews by MLM adherents posing to be fair, unbiased, and objective authors. There are many videos on YouTube and articles you can search for on Google that utilize provocative imagery or words to attract suspicious consumers looking for more information about particular MLMs. These pernicious articles are designed to deceive, and consistently use faulty logic to further their agenda. Even though anti-MLM information continues to be gathered and published, MLM propaganda continues to evolve and become more clever as well.
Here are some red flags to look out for when reading or watching a review:
1. Always look for a motive behind the article or video. Catchy titles such as, "[WARNING] Don't Join Amway Global before you see this!", or "Stop & Read: The Scam that is Rodan + Fields" are consistently utilized to generate traffic. At first glance, these authors appear to have important information that could help you make an educated decision, but it is important to investigate deeper. Titles are consistently utilized to mislead people and they are also used to fabricate accuracy about MLMs.
2. If you are reading an article from a well-known source, such as Forbes or the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), then you must make sure the author has credibility! These magazines consistently use "Guest" posters or authors and they do not need any prerequisites to write about a particular subject. MLMers often utilize badly written articles that were published by these magazines as an attempt to prove efficacy of their position.
3. "Non-MLMers" posting about an MLM to drive traffic for their own products. There have been many videos on YouTube from people claiming to have no affiliation with MLM, and then their video will actually be about purchasing their software, literature, or seminar. Do not utilize their information as they will say anything to sell their products! As they say in the cop dramas, "They are not a reliable witness".
4. MLM adherents posting videos or articles with defaming information about one "bad MLM" to make the MLM they represent sound better. MLMers have no camaraderie in this industry and will utilize information from legitimate sources to further their agenda. They will pretend they are reliable and objective because they do not have any direct affiliation with the MLM they are discrediting. Do not fall for this, and make sure you check the actual information written by the sources they utilize (if available). Again, these MLMers can utilize certain information and then twist it into something different. An example would be an MLMer talking about the old "Binary compensation plans" for MLMs like Herbalife, and yet their new MLM has come up with a "Unilateral compensation plan" that makes earning money better. This is a ruse, and any information they utilize to make their MLM sound great should immediately be discredited because of their financial bias.
5. Professional looking hyperlinks. It is important to look at the content and not just the hyperlink. MLMers will often utilize sources such as, www.thetruthaboutamway.com or www.networkmarketingpro.com, and not realize these are completely biased and faulty. They work very hard to appear legitimate, but it is important to dig deeper into the content and try to find the goal of the source.
As more knowledge surfaces about MLMs, the creativity and deception in these fake reviews also becomes harder to identify. It is important to take the time to investigate the article and the author as well as read the content and identify the motives. Make sure to ask thought provoking questions about the article or video, and also make sure not to specifically look for content that always aligns with your views. The internet is a valuable tool, but it should also be treated with caution as anyone can use it to create anything.
Here are some red flags to look out for when reading or watching a review:
1. Always look for a motive behind the article or video. Catchy titles such as, "[WARNING] Don't Join Amway Global before you see this!", or "Stop & Read: The Scam that is Rodan + Fields" are consistently utilized to generate traffic. At first glance, these authors appear to have important information that could help you make an educated decision, but it is important to investigate deeper. Titles are consistently utilized to mislead people and they are also used to fabricate accuracy about MLMs.
2. If you are reading an article from a well-known source, such as Forbes or the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), then you must make sure the author has credibility! These magazines consistently use "Guest" posters or authors and they do not need any prerequisites to write about a particular subject. MLMers often utilize badly written articles that were published by these magazines as an attempt to prove efficacy of their position.
3. "Non-MLMers" posting about an MLM to drive traffic for their own products. There have been many videos on YouTube from people claiming to have no affiliation with MLM, and then their video will actually be about purchasing their software, literature, or seminar. Do not utilize their information as they will say anything to sell their products! As they say in the cop dramas, "They are not a reliable witness".
4. MLM adherents posting videos or articles with defaming information about one "bad MLM" to make the MLM they represent sound better. MLMers have no camaraderie in this industry and will utilize information from legitimate sources to further their agenda. They will pretend they are reliable and objective because they do not have any direct affiliation with the MLM they are discrediting. Do not fall for this, and make sure you check the actual information written by the sources they utilize (if available). Again, these MLMers can utilize certain information and then twist it into something different. An example would be an MLMer talking about the old "Binary compensation plans" for MLMs like Herbalife, and yet their new MLM has come up with a "Unilateral compensation plan" that makes earning money better. This is a ruse, and any information they utilize to make their MLM sound great should immediately be discredited because of their financial bias.
5. Professional looking hyperlinks. It is important to look at the content and not just the hyperlink. MLMers will often utilize sources such as, www.thetruthaboutamway.com or www.networkmarketingpro.com, and not realize these are completely biased and faulty. They work very hard to appear legitimate, but it is important to dig deeper into the content and try to find the goal of the source.
As more knowledge surfaces about MLMs, the creativity and deception in these fake reviews also becomes harder to identify. It is important to take the time to investigate the article and the author as well as read the content and identify the motives. Make sure to ask thought provoking questions about the article or video, and also make sure not to specifically look for content that always aligns with your views. The internet is a valuable tool, but it should also be treated with caution as anyone can use it to create anything.
I'd add something else.
ReplyDeleteIf the tone of the presentation or article is chirpy, up-beat, vaguely positive, and atmospherically Smiley-Face, you can be pretty sure it's a pro-MLM effusion.