The practice of acquiring favorable ratings and testimonials on a prominent social media platform through purchase constitutes a market activity. This involves monetary exchange for artificially inflated endorsements intended to bolster a business’s or individual’s online reputation. An example includes paying a third-party service to generate multiple top-tier ratings on a business’s Facebook page.
Such artificial enhancement of online perception is undertaken to influence potential customers, improve perceived credibility, and potentially elevate search rankings on both the social media platform and external search engines. Historically, this practice has emerged alongside the increasing importance of online reviews in consumer decision-making, creating a demand for methods to manipulate or accelerate the accumulation of positive feedback.