When the stars lie: Michelle Walther successfully defended her PhD on fake online reviews

Online reviews play a key role in purchasing decisions. At the same time, many people find it difficult to spot manipulated or fake reviews. The aim of the PhD research was therefore to gain a better understanding of the clues consumers use to spot fake reviews, how they evaluate this information, and how their ability to do so can be specifically improved.

As part of the doctoral thesis, a systematic literature review was first carried out. As there had previously been few studies on human detection of fake reviews and a consistent theoretical framework was lacking, Walther developed the so-called Consumer Review Evaluation Model (CREM). This model describes how people assess reviews in real-life shopping situations. It emerged that consumers assess reviews in three steps: first for relevance, then for the credibility of the reviewer, and finally for the veracity of the review itself. If a review stands out negatively in any of these steps, it is not taken into account in the purchasing decision.
Based on the CREM model, Michelle Walther also designed a training programme for identifying fake reviews. The results showed that participants were able to significantly improve their ability to spot fake reviews as a result of the intervention. The study thus provides important insights for consumer research, digital platforms and the handling of disinformation in online retail.

The thesis defence took place in Enschede at the University of Twente. The thesis was supervised by Steven Watson, Marielle Stel and Alexander Boden. The doctoral committee comprised Ewout Meijer, Bob Fennis, Menno de Jong and Ellen Giebels.
During the defence, the doctoral candidate was traditionally accompanied by so-called ‘paranymphen’ (see photo above). This academic custom, which originates in the Netherlands, refers to trusted individuals or supporters of the doctoral candidate who provide organisational and symbolic support during the defence.

Professionally, Michelle Walther remains affiliated with Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.