If you’ve ever scrolled through a neighborhood Facebook group or contractor referral thread and thought, “Something about this feels off”—you’re not imagining it. In a digital world where trust is currency, reputation is no longer just earned—it’s constructed. And for landlords juggling repairs, turnovers, or renovations, that illusion of trust can cost you in time and money lost.
You’ve probably seen it:
“Hey neighbors, can anyone recommend a good roofer?”
Seems like a normal, everyday post. But take a closer look:
- The profile is new or has no real local connections.
- Many replies recommend the same contractor mixed in with other replies.
What you may be seeing is a paid for reputation construction campaign, mixed in with a genuine recommendation exchange among neighbors who are replaying to what they think is a genuine inquiry.
This happens more often than you think. A contractor (or their marketing agency) plants a fake inquiry. Pre-arranged commenters chime in with choreographed praise. The result? Group members think the contractor has been working in the community and providing satisfying results for local customers. But it is fake.
This issue isn’t limited to contractors. Even tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg are using fake comments to curate reputation. Recently, a bizarre Facebook post of him water skiing in an Uncle Sam outfit got flooded with praise like “Zuck is actually cool now” and “What a Boss!”
But a quick glance at the commenters showed profiles from questionable profiles, strange patterns, and very likely bots or engagement farms.
If that kind of image-building is happening at the top, you can bet it’s rampant in local service ecosystems where accountability is harder to track.
