Five of the Biggest Liars of 2013

Every year brings it own share of amazing lies and liars ... each one accompanied by a flurry of news stories that quickly fade away.  Some of them make national news; others only receive attention in one region of the country.

It's actually wise of us to go back from time to time and recognize the lies that many people fell for ... in the hopes that the public won't be so easily fooled in the future.

If you know of a situation that occurred in 2013 that you think should have made this list, feel free to include it in the comments section below.  I'll even allow links to articles on the topic, as long as the links are not promoting more potential scams.  (Believe it or not, I frequently have to delete comments containing links with obviously dishonest exaggerations such as "lazy way to make $50,000 a month."  I'm always amazed that people believe I will leave these types of comments on this site!)

Here are my picks for the biggest liars of 2013, based on the amount of interest shown on my blog over the past year.  Click on the title of the stories that interest you and you will discover that it is a link to the full article.  Beneath each title I've included a line or two from each of the articles to give you a better idea of the information they contain:

Clayton County Sheriff Elected Despite Felony Charges

"It seems beyond belief that Sheriff Victor Hill was elected to oversee law enforcement and the Clayton County jail in Georgia while he had 32 pending felony charges against him, including accusations of racketeering and theft." Learn more about this outrageous sheriff.

What is Catfishing and Could You Be Victimized?

"The latest person to be damaged by catfishing is Manti Te'O, a Notre Dame football player and Heisman Trophy contender".  Read more about his embarrassing story.

The Jodi Arias Lies

"Few recent trials have captured the attention of the American public more than the Jodi Arias murder trial.  She was accused of murdering her former boyfriend, Travis Alexander, on June 4, 2008 at his house in Mesa, Arizona by slitting his throat, stabbing him 29 times and then shooting him in the face.  After a televised four month trial, the jury convicted Ms. Arias of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013."  Read about the lies she told that convinced the jury that they should convict her.

How to Avoid Phony Online Product Reviews

"The website business2community.com recently posted an article about online reviews in which they reported that a research company named Gartner has discovered that approximately 15% of online product reviews are fake!"  Learn how to recognize a phony review!

Oops!  Anthony Weiner Did it Again!

"This week Mr. Weiner revealed that he actually had sexually explicit online relationships, via text, Twitter and Facebook, with approximately six to ten women while he served in Congress."  This is in addition to the scandal from 2012.  Is this going to become an annual event?

I'm sure we'll have more interesting scandals to read about in 2014.  I wonder if Anthony Weiner will make the list again!

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo of Anthony Weiner is is official Congressional photo and is courtesy of www.wikipedia.org/commons

How to Avoid Phony Online Product Reviews

Like many online writers, I write online product reviews about merchandise that I have bought or would like to buy.  In addition to using first hand accounts of my own experience with a product, I also discuss the product with other members of my family and read the reviews other people have written on sites like Amazon.  On websites like Squidoo and InfoBarrel, I have written hundreds of reviews of products that I like, or that my friends and family members enjoy using.  Whether the products I am reviewing are sunglasses, children's books, shoes or jewelry, I try to write reviews that are helpful and reliable.  In writing these reviews, I try to be as positive, yet honest, as possible.  If I am aware of a disadvantage to using a certain product, or know that there is a better choice available on the market, I let people know.  If I simply believe that it is generally an important item for people to own, such as First Aid Kits, I try to give them a wide range of choices, rather than push just the most expensive one.

As readers of this blog know, I feel comfortable informing my readers whenever I spot a lie or intentional misinformation.  I also am not hesitant to make negative comments on my other blog, Baby Boomer Retirement, when I think it is appropriate.  For example, on that blog I have mentioned problems I have heard about retirement communities, such as the sinkholes in Timber Pines, near Tampa, Florida, or the water issues that could hamper development in the Green Valley area of Arizona.

On the other hand, despite my love of honesty and full disclosure, whenever I write reviews of products, the truth is that I rarely mention anything bad about a product unless I have purchased it and had an exceptionally negative experience.  The reason for this is simple.  When I have had a bad experience with a product, I usually do not write a review.  Consequently, nearly all of my reviews are fairly positive.

At the same time, I have never written an entirely phony review.  I have never written a glowing report on a product, and told others how much I loved it, if it was about a product that neither I, nor anyone I personally know, has ever tried.  In addition, I have never been paid to write a phony review. Unfortunately, my personal scruples do not appear to be typical of everyone who writes online product reviews.

The website business2community.com recently posted an article about online reviews in which they reported that a research company named Gartner has discovered that approximately 15% of online product reviews are fake!  I want to help my readers avoid being scammed by these phony reviews.  In searching for recommendations on how to spot this dishonesty, I picked up some important tips.

How to Avoid Phony Online Reviews

Be suspicious of any reviews you read on the internet if they show any of the characteristics listed below:

Be skeptical if everything about the product is fabulous, incredible, unbelievable or amazing, especially if there are few specifics mentioned.  Most normal people are hesitant to sound ridiculously enthusiastic about a product, even if they like it.  Only people who are paid to write fake reviews talk this way.

Check to see if there are several reviews that are practically the same or were written on the same day or very close together, even though they are written under different online names.  If all the reviews sound the same, they were probably all written by the same person.

Don't rely on reviews that are written in ALL CAPS.

Be suspicious of reviews that sound too good to be true.  For example, if the writer warns that you might lose too much weight too quickly if you use this product, or if the product exceeded the reviewer's wildest dreams, don't believe it.

Be skeptical of reviews that insist that only one manufacturer of the same product is any good.  This is common with phony reviews of nutritional supplements.  

Watch out for what writers call Keyword Stuffing.  This occurs when a writer uses the name of the product and the model number over and over again.  Real people tend to use a lot of pronouns, and are more likely to write vague reviews that sometimes only barely mention the specific name of the product.  For example, a real person is more likely to say, "I really like these shoes;" they are less likely to repeatedly mention the brand, style, color and product number of a pair of shoes that they are reviewing.

You should also be aware that you may be reading a phony review if the person gives you discount codes or links to where you can buy the product, and only that product. On the other hand, many perfectly honest reviewers will include a link to Amazon or a similar legitimate site where you can read more about it and purchase the product.

You also need to be suspicious of especially vicious negative reviews.  Sometimes they have been written by the competition.  Make sure that you are not simply looking at an ad in disguise for another product.

It is smart and perfectly reasonable to read reviews before you purchase a product.  However, just remember not to believe everything you read.  Personally, I particularly like to read Amazon reviews because they allow you to read reviews by people who have given the product a range of scores, from 1 Star to 5 Star.  If you read a few reviews at each level, you should get a fair evaluation of the product.

When I write product reviews on sites like Squidoo, I often include not only my own experience but I sometimes will mention some of the comments other people made in their Amazon reviews.  My goal is to always give people a range of choices, rather than limit them to just one item that I am pushing.  I wish other reviewers made the same effort.  Fewer people would end up feeling deceived.

You are reading from the blog, http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Photo of sunglasses are courtesy of amazon.com.