Huawei Responds to Reports of It Soliciting Fake Mate 10 Pro Reviews on Best Buy
Huawei, or at least the social media team handling its Mate 10 promotions, found themselves in hot water this week after screenshots were released of their Facebook posts inviting people to post reviews on Best Buy for the phone that's yet to make its way into the U.S.
The post came from a private Facebook group, where Huawei Mobile's account posted a "Mate 10 Pro Beta Test Recruitment" call that asks users to post on Best Buy "why you WANT to own the Mate 10 Pro," presumably for a chance to participate in the U.S. device beta tests, as reported by 9 to 5 Google.
The company's Facebook handle then proceeded to actually announce that they have picked nine participants based on how they participated in the call and for their "support for Huawei."
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The Huawei Mate 10 Pro, which is yet to be released in the U.S., has received positive Best Buy reviews, some of which the Huawei Customer Care account actually responded to. The company now claims that the posts were an internal miscommunication on their part.
"We believe there is confusion around a recent social media post reaching out to recruit new beta testers. While there are reviews from beta testers with extensive knowledge of the product, they were in no way given monetary benefits for providing their honest opinions of the product," Huawei explained in a statement as quoted by Android Authority.
The Best Buy page has received 108 reviews for the phone, and more tellingly, 103 of them were posted on or just after the Facebook post from Huawei went up on Jan. 31. Some of them were at least honest enough to note that they are yet to try out the phone themselves, even while leaving a five-star review.
"This device looks exciting and beautiful and it would be amazing to have a chance to beta test it," one particularly candid reviewer posted in a review that has since been removed by Best Buy, according to The Verge.
