The Truth in Web Site Advertising

Prior to bringing on a team member for one of our projects, we go through a qualifications process. This generally includes reviewing past work, contacting their past clients or employers, quizzing them on their knowledge, and getting a feel for their communication style.

While reviewing the resume of a potential team member, we came across an interesting project. She referred to it as a "Testimonials Project". During the interview, we asked her to explain what type of work she did.

Believe it or not, she was honest and said that she was hired to write hundreds of customer testimonials for a company. She had to make up names and locations. Also, she had to find stock photography headshots representing customers to place near the testimonials on the site.

We were shocked that she was so honest. She didn't see a problem with making up this information. Her client's potential customers could have used her fake testimonials to make a decision about working with that company. It would be interesting to find out how often this happens.

We obviously decided not to bring this person onto our team. If she were willing to lie about something like that, what else would she be willing to lie about? It reminded us of those new "Do you have what it takes to be a tobacco exec?" commercials from TheTruth.com.

Has anyone else come across phony ways that people try to build credibility on the Web? Does "truth in advertising" get blurry on the Web?