Christopher Pyne's new education app has been attracting rave reviews on the Apple and Android stores. Only problem is, a whole lot of them appear to be posted by the advertising agency paid to design and promote the app.
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The federal government paid Brisbane firm BCM Partnership $1.1 million to design, develop and promote the Learning Potential app, which is part of a $5 million campaign to encourage parents to get more involved in their children's education.
Education Minister Mr Pyne – who is tipped to shift to a new portfolio in Sunday's frontbench reshuffle – called the app "great" and "inspiring" when he launched it last month.
And at first glance, it seems users agree.
On the Apple store, Nikita Baynes says the app is a "must have for any parent". She says it has given her "countless ideas to help maximise the time I spend with my children. They love it too and I'm already feeling more involved than I've ever been in their education".
But a search of job networking site Linked-In shows Ms Baynes as an account coordinator at BCM.
Indeed, many of the names attached to five-star reviews on both the Apple and Android stores correspond to those of BCM staff on Linked-In.
Alex Stone is listed as a junior user experience designer at BCM. He says the app "is a very helpful tool" and he would "definitely recommend to friends and family".
The Google app store contains four- and five-star reviews from at least five other people who appear to work for BCM, according to Linked-In.
Comment was sought from BCM but they declined to respond. My Pyne's office referred questions to the Department of Education, which did not respond before deadline.
Other reviews on the stores are split but many are negative. A number of people complain of crashes, errors and features that simply don't work.
"Pretty average!" says Zoeeeb, who gives it a 2-star rating.
One mother says the app encourages her to let her toddlers watch television: "Ridiculous," she complains. Another user calls the app useless: "Very inappropriate games and activities for the age of my child."
That's a sentiment shared by several users: "Not relevant. I entered in my 7-month-old and the app is telling me about school activities … wtf?"
Another user says the app is full of "generic waffling u can get on any government pamphlet or website".
And user Nicky Mijeff says: "What a huge waste of taxpayers' dollars. TV ads, print ads. What a lame app."
Labor education spokeswoman Kate Ellis said serious questions needed to be asked about the reviews.
"It's embarrassing for any app ... to boost ratings let alone an official government app which is costing the taxpayer more than $1 million dollars," she said.
