So I joined RealSelf to find a doctor for a face lift, at the time I didn't know that RealSelf had a reputation for being fake.
There were quite a few doctors in my area (Los Angeles) that had amazing reviews by happy clients, so I reached out by PM to 7 of the most recent patients by 7 doctors.
Well, lo and behold, I got 6 replies not from "patients" but from office staff trying to sign me up for consultations!
Only one reply was from a patient and because of her spammy sounding response, where she didn't address my question to her, I strongly suspect her account was fake, too.
I HOPE no one chooses a plastic surgeon from the reviews on RealSelf!
To add insult to injury, I posted my concern in the RealSelf forum under a very obvious fake review, but my post got deleted immediately. What a scam site!