Article: If the review is very short, it may be a fake. If the writer just wants to affect the overall score, their main intent may be to vote via the "star" rating, and to boost or lower it. But because one must write a review as well, the review itself may be very short -- 4 or 5 lines at most. If the review is vague and doesn't have details about the product itself, it may not be genuine. It uses generalities that could apply to many different books or products. An objective review will usually summarize and critique the content or features of the product. A review with an agenda sidesteps this process. If the review was written for a friend, the book or item may be merely described as wonderful, great for everybody, amazing, etc., and the reviewer may say that they're planning to purchase one for everyone they know for the holidays. If the review is by an enemy or rival, on the other hand, the item may be called pathetic, ridiculous, or a waste of time. The reviewer may recommend an alternate product or author that "has more credibility" or that you will like better. If the person doesn't regularly write reviews, it may not be genuine. Under "see all my reviews" next to the reviewer's name, you discover that this reviewer hasn't written any other reviews -- or they've written only a few other short, gushing, vague reviews (for friends), or hit piece reviews (against rivals). If a book reviewer is being paid to write reviews, they may have written a great number of short, 5-star reviews for self-published or print on demand titles. Check "See all my reviews" next to that person's name to see what else they're reviewing, and to look for a sameness to the reviews. The reviewer notes that they haven't read the book or tried the product -- so why are they reviewing it? The reviewer means to either raise or lower the star-ratings without submitting a substantive review. Sometimes a low-star review will talk about a list of ingredients, or a book theme they find distasteful, without any indication that they have ever tried that specific product or read that book. " When evaluating a review, you may also want to know if the person bought the item directly from Amazon; if they did, there will be an orange "verified purchase" notation under the reviewer's name and date. This will indicate that the reviewer has actually received the product. The review must disclose if the reviewer was sent that item for free in exchange for a review, and you may not feel they can write an unbiased review in that case. But people will often write reviews for items received elsewhere -- for instance, a book may have been a gift, a library copy, or have been purchased elsewhere. Amazon allows people to review items obtained elsewhere, and to post reviews of free products; if honest, reviews in these categories are not considered "fake" reviews. Usually, this section contains products similar or complimentary to the product you're looking at. But if this section is loaded with products that have nothing to do with the product, something might be going on. For example, let's say you're looking at resistance exercise bands. You see the "Customers Also Bought" section contains items unrelated to exercise bands -- grill gloves, green tea supplements and ice cube trays. This could mean that all these product are being given away at a significant discount or for free in exchange for a review, which could bias the reviewers.

What is a summary?
Consider the length and tone of the review: Check if the review uses emotional language. See whether the reviewer has written other reviews. Beware if the person has submitted a lot of reviews in a short period. Be skeptical if the review admits bias. Determine if the item was a "Verified Purchase. Consider whether the reviewer was given the product for free, in exchange for writing a review. Look at the "Customers Also Bought" section.