Review manipulation is the deliberate distortion of ratings, testimonials, or comments through fabricated, coordinated, or incentivized submissions. It can include fake praise, mass downvoting, astroturfing, and bot-driven posting that makes a product, business, or service appear more or less trustworthy than it really is.
In cyber security, review manipulation matters because it attacks trust infrastructure rather than systems. Fraudulent reviews can influence search rankings, purchasing decisions, and brand reputation, and they may be used to launder credibility for scams or to damage competitors. Defenders look for bursts of similar language, repeated account patterns, suspicious timing, and review activity that does not match normal customer behavior. Good defenses include rate limiting, account verification, anomaly detection, evidence preservation, and rapid reporting through platform moderation or legal channels.