TripAdvisor managed to stop over 1 million fake reviews being displayed on its website last year, according to a report out today.
The review giant’s 29-page report says nearly 35,000 businesses were pushed down the ranking because they were caught attempting to post fake reviews.
In total, 4.7% of 66 million reviews submitted to TripAdvisor in 2018 were rejected or removed, either for guideline violations or instances of review fraud.
TripAdvisor said only a small fraction of all review submissions (2.1%) were determined to be fraudulent, and the vast majority of those (73%) were blocked before they were ever posted.
The report also claims that less than 1% of reviews were flagged by users or businesses for potentially violating TripAdvisor guidelines.
TripAdvisor’s first ever Review Transparency Report analysed a full year’s worth of data on reviews submitted.
"Ensuring that TripAdvisor is a trusted platform for our users and listed businesses is a top priority. We’ve continued to make advancements to our industry-leading fraud detection efforts in recent years, but it’s a daily battle and we are far from complacent," said Becky Foley, senior director of trust and safety at TripAdvisor.
"While we are winning the fight against fake reviews on TripAdvisor, we can only protect our corner of the internet. As long as other review platforms aren’t taking aggressive action, then fraudsters will continue to exploit and extort small businesses for cash. It is time other platforms like Google and Facebook stepped up to the plate to join us in tackling this problem head on."
The report also outlined TripAdvisor’s efforts to catch paid reviewers, including 75 websites that were caught trying to sell reviews.
Last year the owner of an illegal business that was selling fake reviews in Italy was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined around €8,000 in costs and damages.
Download the report by clicking here.
