The Water Army, Sri-Jin, and Other Crowdsourcing Platforms

Fake social media users known as "Water Armies" can boost products or sink competitors by flooding their listings with reviews and ratings from fake profiles. Fake reviewers listed as store improvers can be hired on a second-hand marketplace linked to Talbal, according to reports. Authorities have attempted to crack down on Water Army practices but product recommendations are evolving in ways that make it even more difficult to prove illegality.