I'm with Mark. Astroturfing, Sock-Puppets -- everyone gets caught. The only fake blogs I can tolerate are the humor blogs like the Fake Steve Jobs.

Esteban,

Personal Opinion Disclaimer = ON
Subsequent comments are expressed solely as personal opinion and not as a representative of my employer. : )


I think these tactics will be self policing in and of themselves, and legislation against it is frivalous. IP addresses can be unmasked and savvy online denizens can be a suspicious lot, and love scandle - something else to blog about. So, I would say the risk vs return for a bunch of fake accolades is high. I.e. companies would generally deter themselves knowing the damage to PR if discovered is far greater than the short lived positive boost if undiscovered.