News
Reporting on fraud, review manipulation, misleading information and the work of protecting consumers and honest businesses.
725 articles
Credits: Hospitality Magazine By: Brea Carter In a bid to tackle issues surrounding fake online reviews, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a best practice guide for businesses and review platforms such as UrbanSpoon. Online reviews: a guide for business and review platforms touches
Credits: Fox4News By: Linda Wagar KANSAS CITY, Mo. –Social review sites started out as a great way to share tips about a hip new clothing store or a hot restaurant. In fact, those reviews have become so important that business owners will got to great lengths, even break the law, to manipulate them. Whether you [&helli
Credits: News.com.au FAKE hotel reviews are becoming more common and travellers should not rely on user-generated content says research released today by CHOICE. "The boom in hotel review sites has given rise to the practice of ‘astroturfing’ or the writing of fake reviews by companies to promote their own accomm
Credits: CNN Money By: Jennifer Alseve It’s not uncommon to receive a few negative reviews, but what’s the best way to handle it? Here’s what you don’t want to do: Call online reviewers punks, trash or other expletives on your company Facebook page like the owners of Amy’s Baking Company did last spring. Their outrageo
Credits: Business 2 Community By: Andrea Eldridge Online reviews can be a great tool to help find a hotel for your next trip, a reputable handy man or the best coffeemaker around. On our last trip to San Francisco, we ate our way from one delicious restaurant to the next, all with the assistance of […]
Credits: BU Today By: Susan Seligson If you’re combing Yelp reviews to decide where to eat, you’re likely to be misled or even duped, according to Georgios Zervas, coauthor of a recent study concluding that at least 16 percent of the reviews are fake. The researchers found that the worst offenders are restaurants seeki
Credits: Business 2 Community By: Richard Larson In case you haven’t heard, it is the age of customer service. The customer does not have to be right but the customer is king in our new online economy. From the business perspective, customer service can be even more difficult because customers do not see the employees
Credits: Hospitality Magazine By: Danielle Bowling ‘The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is cracking down on fake online reviews, setting up best practice guidelines in consultation with industry and consumer groups. Fake reviews posted by competitors or disgruntled diners on websites includi
Credits: Herald Sun By: ANTHONY GOUGH ‘FED-UP restaurant owners are fighting back against anonymous online reviewers, saying unfair negative ratings are dragging their names through the mud and driving away their business. With the growth of websites such as Urbanspoon and Eatability, restaurateurs have reported
Credits: The West Australian By: Rob Broadfield ‘Veteran chef, restaurateur and industry leader Russell Blaikie has urged hospitality businesses to "push back the tide of bile and madness" from internet-based restaurant ratings sites such as Urbanspoon and TripAdvisor. Blaikie, co-owner of multiple award-winning
Credits: Small Business Trends By: Anita Campbell ‘Yelp filed suit against a business (a law firm no less!) over what it claims are fake reviews the business created for itself. While there have been stories before of companies “outed” for being behind fake review efforts, and even FTC complaints, Yelp filing a l
Credits: The Telegraph By: Natalie Paris ‘Reservations have been raised regarding TripAdvisor’s policy of erasing old reviews following a hotel’s renovation.’ ‘Reviews are only helpful if they have been written recently anyway, online investigation authentication service KwikChex argued this week.’ "KwikChe
