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Our reporter Zhao Bing

With the rapid development of my country's short video industry, a large number of third-party evaluation videos produced by video bloggers have emerged. The evaluation content involves many fields such as food, beauty, electrical appliances, hotels, etc., covering almost all aspects of people's food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc. As they vividly display the quality attributes and actual experience of products, third-party evaluation videos have gradually become an important channel for consumers to obtain product information and judge the quality of products.

However, problems also arise. In order to attract attention and earn traffic, some review bloggers exaggerate the efficacy of products. Some even publish false content to mislead or even deceive consumers by combining business and testing. In response, experts and readers call for improving the standardization and scientific nature of third-party review videos, making them more authoritative and providing more valuable references for consumers' purchasing choices.

The evaluation levels vary, and there is a phenomenon of misleading consumers

Not long ago, Ms. Qin from Chengdu, Sichuan, bought a liquid foundation after watching a video of a beauty review blogger with tens of millions of fans. In the video, the blogger used the product to keep the makeup for 8 hours, and claimed that this liquid foundation was not only waterproof and rub-proof, but also had a certain skin care effect. But after receiving the product, Ms. Qin found that the effect was very different from the video promotion. "After using this product, not only did it not have the effect described in the video, but it also caused skin discomfort, and it was only after seeing a doctor offline that it got better." Ms. Qin said.

In life, there are many consumers who have encountered the same situation as Ms. Qin. At present, the third-party evaluation videos widely circulated on the Internet are mostly made by bloggers themselves, through their own evaluation or citing and comparing professional test results, analyzing and researching data, to compare the quality, function, design, ingredients, cost performance and other aspects of the products. Although compared with authoritative organizations, they are more subjective, but their influence on consumers cannot be underestimated. Data shows that nearly 80% of consumers will watch third-party evaluation videos before purchasing products.

However, in the evaluation videos, some bloggers lack professional evaluation skills and also add personal preferences into the evaluation. This kind of evaluation content often fails to provide consumers with accurate and objective product information. Some readers also reported that some evaluation videos adopt the method of "stealing beams and replacing pillars" to mislead consumers. Mr. Zhang, a netizen in Changsha, Hunan, reported that he booked a hotel based on the recommendation of a evaluation blogger on a short video platform, but after checking in, he found that the room facilities were outdated and seriously inconsistent with the description in the video. When Mr. Zhang tried to negotiate with the hotel to change the room type in the video, the staff told him, "This room type is a special room type specially used for shooting videos, and the layout in the video has also been replaced."

"This review video has more than 100,000 likes and comments on the online platform. There should be many consumers like me who come here for this." Mr. Zhang said dissatisfiedly, "But this room type cannot be booked or consumed. Isn't this a scam?"

Some review videos adopt the tactic of "criticizing many and praising one", which seems to be a fair comparison and evaluation of multiple products, but in fact it is a marketing of a certain product.

Mr. Zhu from Beijing followed several car review bloggers before buying a car. "Some bloggers test multiple car models together to highlight the superiority of a certain brand of vehicles. Although these comparison models are of the same price, they are all old models that are about to be replaced. Moreover, the review video clearly states the advantages and disadvantages of other models, but only briefly mentions the disadvantages of the brand models they strongly promote, and mainly talks about the advantages." Mr. Zhu said that he bought a car model promoted by a certain video blogger after watching his review, but after buying it, he found that "the advantages were not mentioned correctly, but the disadvantages were not mentioned, and I felt that I was misled."

For all these reasons, some consumers regard the third-party tests as objective references for decision-making before purchasing goods, but it turns out to be promotional advertisements for certain products or traffic products of bloggers, which makes many consumers sigh that "it is better not to watch the review video."

In fact, third-party evaluation videos not only affect consumers, but also have an impact on companies and the market environment. "Some evaluation videos mislead consumers with an irresponsible attitude or even deliberately slander some products or companies, which not only increases consumers' decision-making costs and purchase risks, but also has a negative impact on corporate brands and reputations, and undermines the fair competition business environment," said Pang Jun, associate professor at the School of Business at Renmin University of China.

Lack of fairness, objectivity, and scientificity leads to low authority of the evaluation video

Currently, there are numerous third-party evaluation video accounts on the Internet, and the evaluation methods and standards are varied. Factors such as insufficient evaluation capabilities, unscientific evaluation methods, and subjective evaluation stance have affected the credibility of the evaluation results.

"Analysis shows that there are many reasons why third-party evaluations are unfair, some of which are due to the lack of objective standards. For example, whether a skin care product is easy to use is not only determined by the product itself, but also by the user's skin type, time and frequency of use, etc., which will affect the evaluation results." Pang Jun believes that these evaluation bloggers may not be subjectively intentional, but because of the lack of unified evaluation standards, the evaluation lacks authority.

At the same time, unscientific evaluation methods can also reduce the credibility of the evaluation. Some evaluation bloggers lack professional knowledge or skills, resulting in distorted evaluation results. Mr. Zhang, a reader from Yinchuan, Ningxia, said: "Some evaluation videos may ignore certain important characteristics of the product, or have misunderstandings about how to use the product, thus drawing wrong conclusions and misleading consumers."

"Due to the low threshold, many people or teams that do not have the qualifications and capabilities have also entered the field of third-party evaluation. If these evaluation accounts themselves do not have professional capabilities, there is no way to talk about the objectivity and fairness of the evaluation." said Li Xiaoman, associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Wuhan University.

Some review bloggers exaggerate the advantages of a product, conceal defects, or even maliciously slander other products in their videos. In fact, they are commercial advertisements in the guise of reviews. A typical case released by the China Consumers Association shows that a review blogger's work is mainly to fight counterfeiting, using a subjective user experience evaluation method to compare whether the product's efficacy is consistent with the publicity effect. In the evaluation of products such as food processors, floor cleaning liquids, and voice-controlled lights, e-commerce platform jump links were directly set for products with good test results, which is clearly an advertising behavior.

Some other review videos use fake reviews or malicious editing to earn traffic with sensational titles or conclusions. Li Xiaoman believes: "Many online platforms are currently oriented towards traffic. Under this logic, third-party reviews will be distorted due to excessive commercialization, and problems such as fake editing and malicious slander will be difficult to avoid."

What's more, some "commercial and testing integrated" merchants deliberately discredit other brands in the same industry by means of unfair competition, causing serious adverse effects on the reputation of other companies. In a case heard by the Suzhou Internet Court in Jiangsu Province, a review blogger released a series of evaluation videos on a certain brand of latex mattresses, latex pillows and other products from May to August 2023. In his video, the brand was described with phrases such as "selling garbage and bringing garbage to consumers". After investigation, it was found that the operator of the review account was another mattress company. In the end, the court ruled that the review account should publicly apologize and compensate the other party for economic losses.

It is difficult for third-party evaluations to be fair and just if they only pursue traffic or aim to suppress their competitors. In March 2023, the China Consumers Association investigated 350 third-party evaluation accounts on 12 Internet platforms and found that 93.1% of third-party evaluations were suspected of having evaluation standard problems; 55.7% of third-party evaluations were suspected of having problems such as "commercial and testing integration" and "commercial support for testing"; 37.2% of consumers reported that the products they purchased by watching third-party evaluation videos had quality problems; and 35.7% of third-party evaluations were suspected of false evaluations.

"At present, domestic third-party evaluations seem to have reached a certain scale in terms of quantity, but there are very few that are truly objective and fair. Even some leading evaluation agencies have been criticized for their business models. If not guided, this industry will find it difficult to develop healthily and may eventually become just a form of internet celebrity marketing," said Pang Jun.

Strengthen management and regulation to make third-party evaluations more fair and transparent

According to the survey report of China Consumers Association, the third-party evaluation market in my country is currently in the early stages of development, with low entry barriers and scattered market participants. Accounts with legal person backgrounds account for only 23.4%. So, how can we regulate and guide the large number of scattered individual accounts?

In fact, truly independent and professional third-party evaluations can not only help consumers improve the quality of their decisions, but also provide timely feedback to companies on consumers' experience and provide a basis for them to make decisions on product improvements. Evaluation videos spread through the Internet can also help good products gain more attention, which is conducive to creating a good market environment. Therefore, how to guide and regulate them, promote them to effectively serve consumers and enterprises, safeguard consumer rights, and improve the quality of corporate products is the demand of consumers and the need to maintain a good business environment.

Zhang Yusheng, a reader from Luohe City, Henan Province, suggested formulating scientific and unified evaluation standards to make third-party evaluations more standardized and avoid the situation where each evaluation account has its own tune and "plays the piano at random".

In fact, some places have already made attempts. On March 12 this year, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Committee issued the "Guidelines for Third-Party Evaluation Work" group standard, which clarified the evaluation procedures for goods and services. The evaluation method should be based on the standard method, that is, scientifically and reasonably selecting the specifications, indicators or methods in the standardization documents that have been issued by international, national, and local governments.

Some readers also called for third-party reviewers to improve their abilities and qualities. "Reviewers must be objective and fair, and avoid any direct or indirect interest relationship with the reviewed companies. The review team should have professional knowledge and skills in related fields, have an in-depth understanding of product characteristics, and ensure the professionalism and accuracy of the review results. The review video should also disclose the review standards, methods, processes, and data sources, so that consumers and the public can clearly understand how the review is conducted, and enhance credibility," said Wang Qi, a reader from Arxan City, Inner Mongolia.

Pang Jun believes: "Third-party evaluations need to strike a balance between independence and profitability. Third-party evaluations must address the issue of business models, that is, how to achieve profitability without having commercial interests with companies or consumers. Once this issue is resolved, third-party evaluations will have the confidence to remain authentic, scientific, and fair."

Internet platforms should also shoulder their due responsibilities and not just pursue "traffic is king". "Short video platforms need to strengthen their review and supervision. For example, they should require third-party evaluation accounts to provide proof of qualifications, disclose the basis for selecting evaluation criteria, and promise that they have no interest in the companies related to the evaluated products. At the same time, they should open up channels for consumers to file complaints and reports, and impose punishment measures such as banning and closing illegal accounts after collecting evidence," said Pang Jun.

"Because the current entry threshold is low, certain measures should be taken to distinguish between official authoritative evaluations and spontaneous evaluations by the public." Li Xiaoman suggested that through the "labeling" setting, the evaluation videos of short video platforms should be classified, such as "third-party evaluations", "authoritative organization evaluations", "corporate official website evaluations" and other categories, so that consumers can have a clear understanding of the background of the producers of the evaluation short videos.

Experts also suggested that relevant departments should introduce industry laws and regulations, raise industry entry barriers, and formulate industry standards so that third-party evaluation agencies or individuals have laws to rely on; at the same time, urge short video platforms to fulfill their responsibilities, strictly enforce relevant laws and regulations, and strengthen the review and management of evaluation videos.

In addition, consumers should also improve their ability to discern third-party evaluation videos. "Consumers should not rely solely on one evaluation result, but should fully compare different evaluation information to obtain a more comprehensive perspective. Also, pay attention to the feedback and comments of other consumers, especially the long-term accumulated user reputation, to help you judge the credibility of the evaluation agency. Also pay attention to whether the evaluator has declared a commercial cooperation or sponsorship relationship with the product manufacturer, which may affect the objectivity of the evaluation." Li Xiaoman said.

(Wang Xinyuan participated in the interview and writing)

Layout design: Zhang Fangman

People's Daily (Page 07, July 29, 2024)