Facebook employees left fake notes on Amazon for the group’s Portal speaker

Remember: In October 2018, Facebook launched its own Portal-connected speaker, which was a little off-putting. It’s a pretty well-equipped product that includes a microphone, camera, screen, and Amazon’s personal assistant, Alexa. But faced with Google Home, HomePod and Amazon Echo, the device is struggling to establish itself in the market. Perhaps because of the breaking of trust in users since the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal and other privacy-related lawsuits that followed. We understand that consumers don’t want to see a Facebook-stamped connected speaker in their living room after these disclosures.

Facebook employees give Portal 5 stars at Amazon

As a result, sales are somewhat lackluster. And to bring all this to life, the firm of Mark Zuckerberg can count on its employees. As tech journalist Kevin Roose of the New York Times noted on his Twitter account, employees seem to have no qualms about promoting Portal directly in Amazon’s ratings and reviews. “Speaking of unreal coordinated behavior, what are the odds that all 5-star reviews of Facebook Portal on Amazon will be published by people with the same name as Facebook employees?”she denounced on the social network.

Also read: Facebook admits its smart speaker can spy on users

For example, a comment left on an e-commerce site can read: “Historically I have never been a big Facebook or social media user but I took a chance and bought 4 Portals and 1 Portal Plus for family. […] I would recommend this product to anyone who likes to stay in touch with family or friends. Much better than a simple search”. It looks like this Facebook employee was really impressed with the speaker’s video calling feature his company developed…

It remains to be seen whether Facebook set up an organized good rating and review campaign for the portal, or whether various employees took these actions independently on their own. Andrew Bosworth, vice president of the Facebook division dedicated to augmented reality and virtual reality, assures that this is the second case to occur. But given the band’s track record of lying, we’re not sure whether we should believe it or not.