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3 Year Investigation Reveals that 75% of Consumer Reports’ Reviews in 24 categories are Fake
Despite its reputation, our investigation found Consumer Reports provides no test data for most of its reviews, especially in categories like consumer electronics and small appliances, with many reviews templated and duplicated. With $200M in annual revenue, Consumer Reports (CR) has positioned itself as the gold standard for unbiased reviews, claiming to deliver “100% unbiased” recommendations and “No fake reviews.” However, our findings tell a different story. Leveraging its reputation, CR has built an enormous reach: it boasts the largest print circulation of any product review brand in America and attracts 14.43 million unique monthly visitors to its website, with
Leveraging its reputation, CR has built an enormous reach: it boasts the largest print circulation of any product review brand in America and attracts 14.43 million unique monthly visitors to its website, with 42% of that traffic coming from Google alone, according to SimilarWeb. There’s a simple explanation: affiliate marketing pulls in an astounding $200 billion annually, creating immense financial incentives for publishers to prioritize revenue over accuracy. This absence of transparency, combined with the templated language, weakens CR’s claim of impartial testing, relying instead on the goodwill and reputation they’ve amassed over decades.
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