Home page testimonials are placeholder data ("Sarah M.", "James K.", "Maria L.") with no real consent #79

New issue

Closed

opened 2026-09-14 03:26:48 +00:00 by Mark · 0 comments

Mark commented

2026-09-14 03:26:48 +00:00

Owner

Where: src/pages/Home.tsx:659-678 (TestimonialsSection).

Bug:

Three testimonials render under the heading "Loved by Entrepreneurs" with three named-but-anonymized quotes:
- Sarah M. — "Custom Apparel Studio Owner"
- James K. — "Embroidery Business, 3 Brother PR-1050X machines"
- Maria L. — "Production Manager, PromoWear Inc."
No attribution, no photos, no company verification, no consent trail.
The first-name + initial pattern and the generic "business with N machines" role suggest these were authored to look like real users without any actual user.

Risk: Public launch with fake testimonials is a consumer-protection issue in most jurisdictions (FTC Endorsement Guides for the US, UK CMA for UK, ACMA for AU). It's also a Forgejo "Project Trust" smell that will come up in any third-party review.

Fix consistent with existing patterns:

If real users exist with consent on file: replace Sarah M./James K./Maria L. with the real first name + last initial + verified role, link each quote to a verifiable source (X/Twitter post, Etsy shop, etc.), and ensure consent is on file.
If no real users exist yet: replace the section content with neutral copy that doesn't imply endorsement, e.g.:

const testimonials = [
  { quote: 'Auto-digitize + Brother PR-10 color match is the workflow we built around.', attribution: 'ThreadCraft internal' },
];

or remove the section entirely until real quotes are available.

Long-term: build the testimonial intake flow in the Settings page (referenced in #76) so users can opt-in with their handle and a quote.

Acceptance: the section either disappears, is relabeled to make the source clear (e.g. "What we're building toward"), or has verified quotes with consent + attribution on file.

**Where:** `src/pages/Home.tsx:659-678` (`TestimonialsSection`). **Bug:** - Three testimonials render under the heading "Loved by Entrepreneurs" with three named-but-anonymized quotes: - `Sarah M.` — "Custom Apparel Studio Owner" - `James K.` — "Embroidery Business, 3 Brother PR-1050X machines" - `Maria L.` — "Production Manager, PromoWear Inc." - No attribution, no photos, no company verification, no consent trail. - The first-name + initial pattern and the generic "business with N machines" role suggest these were authored to look like real users without any actual user. **Risk:** Public launch with fake testimonials is a consumer-protection issue in most jurisdictions (FTC Endorsement Guides for the US, UK CMA for UK, ACMA for AU). It's also a Forgejo "Project Trust" smell that will come up in any third-party review. **Fix consistent with existing patterns:** 1. **If real users exist** with consent on file: replace `Sarah M.`/`James K.`/`Maria L.` with the real first name + last initial + verified role, link each quote to a verifiable source (X/Twitter post, Etsy shop, etc.), and ensure consent is on file. 2. **If no real users exist yet**: replace the section content with neutral copy that doesn't imply endorsement, e.g.: ```ts const testimonials = [ { quote: 'Auto-digitize + Brother PR-10 color match is the workflow we built around.', attribution: 'ThreadCraft internal' }, ]; ``` or remove the section entirely until real quotes are available. 3. **Long-term**: build the testimonial intake flow in the Settings page (referenced in #76) so users can opt-in with their handle and a quote. Acceptance: the section either disappears, is relabeled to make the source clear (e.g. "What we're building toward"), or has verified quotes with consent + attribution on file.