The New York Attorney General’s office recently levied $350,000 in penalties against 19 companies for astroturfing and false endorsements. Dubbed “Operation Clean Turf,” the year long investigation into the reputation management industry found that companies had flooded the Internet with fake consumer reviews on websites including Yelp, Google, and CitySearch. Throughout the investigation, the Attorney General’s office found that many companies, including those in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry, used techniques to hide their identities, such as creating fake profiles on review websites and paying copywriters from around the world for $1 to $10 per review.

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