Officials in Taiwan are investigating claims that Samsung paid people to post favorable reviews about their products online while at the same time offering up negative feedback on rival HTC's products. The investigation launched after the Fair Trade Commission received numerous complaints on the matter.
TaiwanSamsungLeaks posted documents allegedly showing Samsung hired a marketing firm to catalog different posts made on local gadget forums last year. Some of the post topics include a user complaining that his girlfriend's HTC One X suffered from repeated crashes while the Galaxy Note was much better than the HTC Sensation XL. Individuals also posted benchmark results that show the Galaxy S3 outperforms the HTC One X in the graphics and battery life department.
PC Advisor points out that Samsung has not yet received anything from Taiwan's FTC but admit that the "unfortunate incident" did happen. In a statement released on the matter, Samsung said they have ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments. Furthermore, the company said they adhere to transparent and honest communications with consumers and will work to prevent it from happening again in the future.
HTC said they wouldn't rule out taking appropriate action to protect their consumers and the company but perhaps the bigger issue here is this: if Samsung has been using these tactics against HTC, are they also engaged in similar marketing techniques with other rivals?