Rotten Tomatoes Accused of Benefit Manipulation, Allowing Shill Reviews to Boost Ratings

According to IGN, the movie and TV show rating website Rotten Tomatoes has recently been accused of having engaged in benefit manipulation with a public relations company to artificially inflate the reputation of a TV series. An article published by the foreign media outlet Vulture exposed the public relations firm "Bunker 15" for their involvement in manipulating the reviews of the 2018 TV series "Ophelia," starring Daisy Ridley.

Reportedly, Bunker 15 paid a group of low-level reviewers on the website to post positive reviews at a rate of $50 per review in an attempt to manipulate the review system. Furthermore, the company persuaded one reviewer to change their negative review into a positive one. As a result, the rating for "Ophelia" increased to 62%, just above the 60% threshold that designates a movie or series as "rotten."

One of the founders of Bunker 15 denied these allegations, stating, "Our list of contributors includes thousands of writers. A small group of individuals set up a specific system where filmmakers could sponsor or pay them to review their films."

Media outlets have pointed out the incredible influence that Rotten Tomatoes wields in both the commercial and consumer spheres of Hollywood. The Rotten Tomatoes rating can often determine whether audiences decide to go to the theaters or not, with many people using it as a measure of a movie or series's quality. The media is concerned that this makes Rotten Tomatoes a platform ripe for exploitation, and they aim to expose just how easily the system can be manipulated.