Investigations, alerts and analysis

Google sued by Brisbane businessman Jarrod Sierocki for defamatory forum posts

Google hit with $208K fine over alleged defamation

Credits: CNET By Don Reisinger ‘Google has lost a defamation lawsuit in Australia. An Australian court today ordered Google to pay 200,000 Australian dollars ($208,760) to Milorad Trkulja for showing search results that might have caused users to link him to mobsters.’ Above excerpts and read the full story on ww

Australian man wins defamation case against Google over images published online

Credits: The Australian By: Claire Connelly "AN Australian man has won a landmark defamation case against Google after images of him were published alongside gangland figures including drug baron Tony Mokbel. The man – who has lived in Australia for 42 years also claimed that a Google search for his name brought

As Fake Reviews Rise, Yelp, Others Crack Down on Fraudsters

Credits: Ad Age By: Michael Learmonth ‘Online reviews can make or break a local business, which is why the incentive to cheat with paid-for, malicious or fraudulent reviews is so great. Weeding out fraud is an inexact science; sites such as TripAdvisor, Google+ Local and Yelp use a mix of algorithms and human mod

KwikChex Ratings for Travel Review Websites – Updated

Updated 3rd July 2012 KwikChex has now published ratings on the first named travel review sites. Background Reviews sites, are fundamentally asking consumers to trust / believe in the information they provide on businesses. They are highly influential in consumer opinion and decision making. Small businesses in particu

New UK defamation laws

The proposed changes to UK defamation laws that were included in the Queen's Speech last week would have a profound effect on online reviews. The government has made clear its intentions to support free speech, while also enabling claimants to protect their reputation by securing removal of defamatory material without

How Accurate are Online Travel Reviews?

Credits: PeterGreenberg.com By: Phil Baker ‘It’s easy to find hotel reviews online, but honest, unbiased honest customer reviews are harder to spot. Tech columnist Phil Baker reports on new findings and reviews the latest technology to see if there’s a better way.’ ‘There’s another option that I recently di

KwikChex and BBC force Google to remove online defamation

Google removes ‘paedophile’ claim on review website Credits: BBC News By Claire Marshall BBC News Midlands correspondent "A business owner accused in a Google review of being a paedophile and a thief has said he is delighted that the search giant has removed the entry." "He (Chris Emmins of KwikChex) called for G

KwikChex to create an ‘Honest Web Summit’

Almost everyone would acknowledge that the worldwide web is saturated with fraud and deceit. Online defamation is soaring and both consumers and reputable businesses suffer. KwikChex believes that significant improvements to reliability of information are readily achievable and obviously desirable. We are inviting a wi

Government Investigates Fake TripAdvisor Reviews

Credits: Technorati By: Kaleel Sakakeeny "Now we read in the usually reliable industry site, hotel marketing.com that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority(ASA) is officially investigating the review giant because complaints have "reached monumental levels." "If the ASA finds against TripAdvisor it could spell troub

TripAdvisor called into question over ‘fake’ reviews

Credits: The Boston Globe By: Melanie Nayer "How many times have you Googled a hotel name and found a TripAdvisor review show up? How many times have you clicked on that link to read the review? How many of those reviews were fake?" Above excerpt and full article on The Boston Globe: www.boston.com

UK Advertising Standards Authority confirms ‘formal investigation’ into TripAdvisor complaints.

KwikChex News Release 01/09/2011 The Advertising Standards Authority have written to KwikChex, confirming that they have considered the issues raised regarding TripAdvisor – and have decided to deal with it under their formal investigations procedure. TripAdvisor will be asked to respond and provide evidence to s