Big online companies like Amazon, Expedia, and Trustpilot are working together to stop fake reviews. Fake reviews are when people lie about a product or service to make money. These lies can trick people into buying bad things and hurt the company’s name. The UK government says fake reviews can cost people a lot of money every year. The government wants to fix this problem with a new law, and the US is thinking about doing the same thing.

Some people are worried because new computer technology could make it easier to write many fake reviews quickly. But, the group of companies will use this technology to find the fake reviews. They will also make rules about how to spot fake reviews and share tips on how to stop them. The group will also share information about companies that sell fake reviews. The boss of Amazon said it’s important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews.

Original news source: Amazon, Expedia and Trustpilot unite to fight fake reviews (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Each team takes turns acting out a word or phrase related to the article. The other team has to guess what it is. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Word Association
Instructions: Write the word “reviews” on the board. Have students take turns saying a word that they associate with it. Encourage them to explain why they made the association. Repeat the activity with other key words from the article.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a list of vocabulary words from the article. One student has to draw a picture of the word while the other student guesses what it is. After a certain amount of time, switch roles.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, have students come up with a catchy headline for the article. Encourage them to think about the main idea and key points. Each group can share their headline with the class and explain their reasoning.

– Two Truths and a Lie
Instructions: Have each student come up with two true statements and one false statement related to the article. In pairs or small groups, students take turns sharing their statements. The others have to guess which statement is the lie.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What are fake reviews?
2. Why are fake reviews bad?
3. What are some big online companies that are working together to stop fake reviews?
4. What does the UK government want to do about fake reviews?
5. Why are some people worried about new computer technology?
6. How will the group of companies use technology to find fake reviews?
7. Why is it important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Big online companies like Amazon, Expedia, and Trustpilot are working together to stop fake reviews. Fake reviews are when people lie about a (1)______ or service to make money. These (2)______ can trick people into buying bad things and hurt the company’s name. The UK government (3)______ fake reviews can cost people a lot of money every year. The government wants to fix this problem with a new law, and the US is thinking about (4)______ the same thing.

Some people are worried because new computer (5)______ could make it easier to write (6)______ fake reviews quickly. But, the group of companies will use this technology to find the fake reviews. They will also make rules about how to spot fake reviews and share tips on how to stop them. The group will also share information about (7)______ that sell fake reviews. The boss of Amazon said it’s important for companies to (8)______ together to stop fake reviews.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a fake review?
2. How would you feel if you bought something based on a fake review?
3. Do you like it when people lie about products or services?
4. Do you think fake reviews are a big problem?
5. Why or why not?
6. What do you think about the idea of using computer technology to find fake reviews?
7. How do you think companies can spot fake reviews?
8. Why do you think it’s important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews?
9. Have you ever seen a fake review before?
10. What would you do if you found out a company was selling fake reviews?
11. Do you think the new law will help stop fake reviews?
12. Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. online
2. companies
3. fake
4. reviews
5. product
6. service
7. money
8. technology

Meanings:
(a) Groups of people who work together
(b) Help or work that someone does for you
(c) Something you use on the computer
(d) Something you buy or use
(e) Not real or true
(f) Opinions about something you buy or use
(g) Something you use to buy things
(h) The way we use computers and machines
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are fake reviews?
(a) When people give honest opinions about a product or service
(b) When people buy products or services online
(c) When people write good reviews about a product or service
(d) When people lie about a product or service to make money

2. Why are fake reviews a problem?
(a) They can make companies more money
(b) They can help people find good products or services
(c) They can trick people into buying bad things
(d) They can make companies more popular

3. What is the UK government doing about fake reviews?
(a) They are encouraging people to write more fake reviews
(b) They want to fix the problem with a new law
(c) They are ignoring the problem
(d) They are asking companies to write more fake reviews

4. What is the US government thinking about doing about fake reviews?
(a) They are thinking about fixing the problem with a new law
(b) They are thinking about encouraging people to write more fake reviews
(c) They are thinking about ignoring the problem
(d) They are thinking about asking companies to write more fake reviews

5. How could new computer technology make it easier to write fake reviews?
(a) It could make it quicker to write many fake reviews
(b) It could make it harder to write many fake reviews
(c) It could make it easier to write honest reviews
(d) It could make it easier to spot fake reviews

6. How will the group of companies use new computer technology?
(a) They will use it to write more fake reviews
(b) They will use it to make more money
(c) They will use it to find the fake reviews
(d) They will use it to make companies more popular

7. What will the group of companies do to stop fake reviews?
(a) They will encourage people to write more fake reviews
(b) They will make rules about how to spot fake reviews
(c) They will ignore the problem
(d) They will ask companies to write more fake reviews

8. Why is it important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews?
(a) Because they can make more money together
(b) Because they can make companies more popular together
(c) Because they can stop fake reviews together
(d) Because they can find more fake reviews together

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Big companies like Amazon and Expedia are working against each other to stop fake reviews.
2. The UK government says fake reviews can cost people a lot of money every year.
3. Real reviews are when people tell the truth about a product or service to make money.
4. Some people are worried that new computer technology could make it easier to write many fake reviews quickly.
5. The group of companies will use this technology to find the fake reviews.
6. The government wants to worsen this problem with a new law.
7. Fake reviews can trick people into buying bad things and hurt the company’s name.
8. The boss of Amazon said it’s unimportant for companies to work together to stop fake reviews.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What are fake reviews?
2. Why are fake reviews a problem?
3. Who is working together to stop fake reviews?
4. How can new computer technology help find fake reviews?
5. Why is it important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are fake reviews?
Fake reviews are when people lie about a product or service to make money.

2. Why are fake reviews bad?
Fake reviews can trick people into buying bad things and hurt the company’s name.

3. What are some big online companies that are working together to stop fake reviews?
Amazon, Expedia, and Trustpilot are some big online companies working together to stop fake reviews.

4. What does the UK government want to do about fake reviews?
The UK government wants to fix the problem of fake reviews with a new law.

5. Why are some people worried about new computer technology?
Some people are worried because new computer technology could make it easier to write many fake reviews quickly.

6. How will the group of companies use technology to find fake reviews?
The group of companies will use technology to find fake reviews and make rules about how to spot them.

7. Why is it important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews?
It is important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews because it helps protect people from buying bad things and keeps the company’s reputation good.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) product
(2) lies
(3) says
(4) doing
(5) technology
(6) many
(7) companies
(8) work
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. online
Answer: (c) Something you use on the computer

2. companies
Answer: (a) Groups of people who work together

3. fake
Answer: (e) Not real or true

4. reviews
Answer: (f) Opinions about something you buy or use

5. product
Answer: (d) Something you buy or use

6. service
Answer: (b) Help or work that someone does for you

7. money
Answer: (g) Something you use to buy things

8. technology
Answer: (h) The way we use computers and machines
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are fake reviews?
Answer: (d) When people lie about a product or service to make money

2. Why are fake reviews a problem?
Answer: (c) They can trick people into buying bad things

3. What is the UK government doing about fake reviews?
Answer: (b) They want to fix the problem with a new law

4. What is the US government thinking about doing about fake reviews?
Answer: (a) They are thinking about fixing the problem with a new law

5. How could new computer technology make it easier to write fake reviews?
Answer: (a) It could make it quicker to write many fake reviews

6. How will the group of companies use new computer technology?
Answer: (c) They will use it to find the fake reviews

7. What will the group of companies do to stop fake reviews?
Answer: (b) They will make rules about how to spot fake reviews

8. Why is it important for companies to work together to stop fake reviews?
Answer: (d) Because they can find more fake reviews together
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Big companies like Amazon and Expedia are working against each other to stop fake reviews. (Answer: False)
2. The UK government says fake reviews can cost people a lot of money every year. (Answer: True)
3. Real reviews are when people tell the truth about a product or service to make money. (Answer: False)
4. Some people are worried that new computer technology could make it easier to write many fake reviews quickly. (Answer: True)
5. The group of companies will use this technology to find the fake reviews. (Answer: True)
6. The government wants to worsen this problem with a new law. (Answer: False)
7. Fake reviews can trick people into buying bad things and hurt the company’s name. (Answer: True)
8. The boss of Amazon said it’s unimportant for companies to work together to stop fake reviews. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧