Amazon, Expedia, Tripadvisor, and Others Join Forces to Combat Fake Reviews

Photo source: Amazon.

Six leading technology companies recently announced the formation of a new coalition to combat fake reviews. The Coalition for Trusted Reviews, which includes Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia, Glassdoor, Tripadvisor, and Trustpilot, is committed to protecting consumers and businesses from fraudulent reviews.

Representatives from these companies met in October 2022 in San Francisco at the first ever Fake Reviews Conference, organized by Tripadvisor. Attendees heard from experts in government, academia and the industry at large on common challenges and potential mitigation approaches related to the issue of fake reviews. This resulted in the establishment of a formal coalition to collaborate on public education and ongoing information sharing between members, in an effort to decrease review fraud.

Photo source: Unsplash.

The Coalition for Trusted Reviews will work together to develop and implement new strategies to combat fake reviews. This includes sharing information about fraudulent actors, developing common standards for detecting and removing fake reviews, and advocating for public policies that support the fight against such reviews.

Photo source: Unsplash.

The coalition has also agreed to engage in several key areas to protect consumers and partners from fake reviews, including:

• Industry Alignment: Developing common standards and definitions for use throughout the industry around what constitutes a fake review and other content moderation nomenclature and measurement.
• Best Practice Sharing: Defining best practices for hosting online reviews and sharing information on updated content moderation process and methods of fake review detection.
• Information Sharing: Sharing information relating to how fraudulent actors operate, such as companies selling fake reviews to businesses seeking to unfairly and improperly improve their reputations.
• Advocacy: Engaging with academics and public policy leaders to promote the benefits to consumers of review content and support industry efforts to combat fake reviews from being published.

Photo source: Tripadvisor.

Coalition members will next meet in Brussels on December 5th and 6th at the second Fake Reviews Conference, organized by Amazon.

The coalition’s formation is considered a significant step forward in the fight against fake reviews. By working together, these leading companies can make it more difficult for fraudsters to operate, and help to protect consumers and businesses alike.