Writers Online: Authenticity vs Spin

I was chatting to a girlfriend this morning about authenticity, and we were discussing the challenge of sifting through recommendations on the internet when you're looking to buy a product.  Some are obviously written by genuine customers giving their honest opinion, but some look so effusive you have to wonder if the person or company who's selling the product has snuck in and posted it themselves, then maybe gone to their opposition's product and posted a bad review!  But wait, it gets...