--- title: "The US Government Just Banned Fake AI-Generated Reviews" description: "The Federal Trade Commission just moved to ban fake, AI-generated reviews and testimonials, including ones attributed to fake authors." date: "2024-08-20" modified: "2024-08-20" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/government-banned-ai-generated-reviews" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "advon" - "ai" - "ai-generated content" - "sports illustrated" --- # The US Government Just Banned Fake AI-Generated Reviews ![The Federal Trade Commission just moved to ban fake, AI-generated reviews and testimonials, including ones attributed to fake authors.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has moved to ban fake, AI-generated reviews and testimonials. The ordinance, [handed down last week](), targets a sweeping array of dishonest online review practices ranging from purchasing positive reviews to paying for fake followers to fake a strong social media presence to "reviews and testimonials that misrepresent that they are by someone who does not exist." This latter category includes "AI-generated fake reviews" or product assessments that otherwise misrepresent the experience — or lack thereof — of a reviewer actually trying the product or brand in question. The ban also forbids the publishing of reviews that fail to disclose conflicting interests, like in cases where a brand secretly owns the website where reviews of its products are published, or instances of "insider reviews" in which a product review is "written by company insiders that fail to clearly and conspicuously disclose the giver's material connection to the business." The FTC argues that the ban is designed to protect consumers and their hard-earned cash from companies that abuse the illusory, SEO-driven world of online retailing. "Fake reviews not only waste people's time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors," FTC Chair Lina Khan [said in a statement](). "By strengthening the FTC's toolkit to fight deceptive advertising, the final rule will protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive." Instances of fake reviews for individual products, like the one-to-five star reviews on digital marketplaces like Amazon, [have exploded in the AI era](), making it that much harder for online shoppers to tell whether a product is really up to snuff — or is instead relying on phony, AI-spun assessments to fake legitimacy. Last year, a [*Futurism* investigation revealed that]() the venerable magazine *Sports Illustrated* had been publishing product reviews bylined by nonexistent AI-generated writers with made-up bios feigning experience in specific product categories. Our [followup investigation]() found that the contractor responsible for those fake reviews, AdVon Commerce, had left a staggering trail of similar articles throughout the media landscape, publishing fake reviews everywhere from the *Los Angeles Times* to *The Miami Herald*. Insiders at the company, who were tasked with using an in-house AI tool dubbed MEL to churn out the review-style buying guides, told us that they'd never actually tested any of the products featured in the content. But that wasn't even all. Our reporting was also the first to reveal that AdVon was operating a second, closely-tied company called Seller Rocket, which allowed sellers of consumer goods to pay for coverage in AdVon-generated buying guides. In other words, AdVon was quietly double-dipping — and didn't disclose that relationship to readers, adding yet another layer of sleaze. It seems that all of this material – the fake authors in the bylines, the use of AI to generate the reviews, and the undisclosed pay-to-play nature of the posts — would fall squarely within the FTC's ban, which allows the federal agency to "seek civil penalties against known violators." The e-commerce landscape is a junk-packed mess, and from [botched AI-generated Amazon product listings]() to fake reviews published by legitimate news organizations, AI has made it all the muddier. It's intriguing to see the FTC take steps to clean up some of the slop — and hopefully clear the way for the human-powered internet, [as well as reviewers with real, consumer-aiding expertise](), to thrive in the process. "Folks shopping for products or services should be able to rely on customer reviews to find companies that provide the best service," President Joe Biden [wrote in an X-formerly-Twitter post last week](). "That's why the FTC has proposed to stop marketers that use fake reviews from undercutting honest businesses." **More on AI and fake reviews:** [*Meet AdVon, the AI-Powered Content Monster Infecting the Media Industry*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()