HACKINTOSH.ORG | Macintosh discussion forums

Google Maps will flag businesses with potentially fake reviews

<p>I have slowly turned into that frustrating person who won't go somewhere before checking its reviews on <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/google-maps-will-show-you-where-to-enter-your-destination-130021496.html">Google Maps[/url]. However, I also get suspicious when the reviews are too good — there's no pleasing me, apparently — so I'm relieved to hear that Google is making it easier to spot <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/uk-competition-regulator-amazon-google-fake-reviews-095052267.html">fake ones[/url]. Google is now issuing a warning for applicable businesses, stating, &quot;Suspected fake reviews were recently removed from this place.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Google has previously come under fire with the UK's <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/uk-competition-regulator-amazon-google-fake-reviews-095052267.html">Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which opened an investigation[/url] into their handling of fake reviews in 2021. A user on X (formerly Twitter) <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="https://x.com/mblumenthal/status/1835746813032177806">first spotted the change[/url] in review handling on a Maps page for a company in the UK (possibly a coincidence).</p>
<span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>Google has yet to confirm the feature or where it will be available, but <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="https://www.seroundtable.com/google-maps-fake-review-notice-38116.html">Search Engine Roundtable[/url]<a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="https://www.seroundtable.com/google-maps-fake-review-notice-38116.html"> reports[/url] Google recently updated its relevant support page to apply globally.</p>
<p><a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="https://support.google.com/business/answer/14114287">Google outlines possible restrictions[/url] that can be placed on businesses violating its Fake Engagement policy. One point is that the &quot;business profile will display a warning to let consumers know that fake reviews were removed.&quot; Other temporary restrictions include not receiving new ratings or reviews, or having existing ones unpublished. If any of these actions occur, business owners will receive an email from <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/google-maps-will-let-you-store-your-location-on-your-phone-instead-the-cloud-170041432.html">Google[/url] and can appeal the decision.</p>
<p>While fake reviews can come from businesses in an attempt to boost their ratings, they can also derive from <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="https://www.engadget.com/google-maps-review-bombing-machine-learning-153740932.html">people hoping to tank them[/url]. If a business reports these fake reviews, it's unclear whether the same warning will come up (as the wording certainly makes the business seem at fault).</p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-maps-will-flag-businesses-with-potentially-fake-reviews-123133579.html?src=rss

Source: Google Maps will flag businesses with potentially fake reviews (https://www.engadget.com/google-maps-will-flag-businesses-with-potentially-fake-reviews-123133579.html?src=rss)