I want to share my recent experience with posting reviews and get your advice. I recently ordered an SSD from a major online retailer, but the product I received did not match the description – the technical specifications and brand were different from what I ordered.
When I tried to leave a review on Google Maps, it was removed by their automated systems with the explanation that the content “does not reflect a real experience or may be fake engagement.” I have screenshots of the product and diagnostics from software like CrystalDiskInfo that clearly show the mismatch.
I’d like to ask:
How do you handle situations where your review is real, but Google removes it?
Is there a safe way to document and post genuine experiences with products so they aren’t deleted?
I’m attaching screenshots here to clearly show the issue, without violating the platform rules:
Screenshot of the SSD as received
Screenshot of software diagnostics showing specifications
Thanks for your guidance. I understand now that screenshots can cause removal, so I’m sharing my experience in text only.
Review (text-only):
I ordered an ADATA SU650 2TB SSD via eMAG, but I received a counterfeit product without any brand markings or real SSD specifications. I contacted eMAG, and they told me the product is sold by a Marketplace seller, not directly by them, and that they could only assist through a return and refund.
This is not acceptable—customers expect to receive a real product when purchasing through eMAG, not a fake.
Thank you for your reply. I understand your point, but I purchased the product directly through eMAG’s platform, not from a third-party site like eBay. I expected to receive a genuine product when buying through eMAG, not a counterfeit.
Here is the link to the location on Google Maps for reference: eMAG Bulgaria
I hope this clarifies that this was a genuine purchase experience through eMAG and not a third-party marketplace transaction.
In such cases you can take legal action instead of worrying about a review on Google Maps. Or try to get some national news media to write about your issue.
I’m not asking for assistance here. I just want to know why my review is having issues being published. My review reflects a real experience I had purchasing an SSD directly through eMAG, and it’s not fake or manipulative.
Hi @Bogomil_Atanasov
As you received a notification about the review not being posted, there was also a button to submit an appeal on the “more information” page? Usually the possibility of appealing is available.
Do you have a screenshot of that message?
Yes, I did receive such a notification and I used the appeal button.
I have taken a screenshot of the message showing that the review was removed for “fake engagement”.
However, the bigger issue is not the button itself, but why a real, factual review about receiving a counterfeit product is being removed in the first place.
This is a real purchase from eMAG Bulgaria: I ordered an ADATA SU650 2TB and received a fake, unbranded SSD with manipulated firmware and fake capacity. This was verified using diagnostic tools and real write tests.
The review contained no insults, no promotion, no speculation — only a description of what happened and a warning to other users.
Yes, I appealed — but I believe there is a systemic problem if honest reviews about counterfeit products are automatically classified as “fake engagement”.
It’s not easy to answer your question briefly, @Bogomil_Atanasov
I was probably one of the first here at Connect to conduct an in-depth analysis of the situation. You can read it here: Your review has not been published. Do you know why?
“Fake” reviews are a global problem, damaging both consumers and businesses. Given its scale, this problem has forced all platforms hosting online reviews to take action, both for their own credibility and to avoid being penalized by the laws that, in many countries around the world, regulate this practice.
Everyone, not just Google, has created automated filters (we’re talking about 500 million Local Guides, a size impossible to manage with human operators) to filter out potentially fake reviews. Obviously, these filters are prone to errors, which is why the option to appeal is available.
In the European Union, since content removal is also regulated by law, we are notified when a review is removed and are directly offered the opportunity to appeal. This type of notification has recently been extended to some other countries, such as Turkey.
I hope this answers your question.
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I understand that automated filters are necessary given the scale of Local Guides. However, I want to emphasize that the system is not working correctly in practice.
My review was factual, based on a real purchase from eMAG Bulgaria: I ordered an ADATA SU650 2TB and received a fake, unbranded SSD with manipulated firmware and false capacity. I verified it with diagnostic tools and real write tests.
The review contained no insults, no promotion, no speculation — only a description of what happened and a warning to other users. Yet, it was automatically removed as “fake engagement”.
This shows that the automated system removes legitimate, fact-based reviews that are important for consumer safety, which is exactly the opposite of what Google intends with the Local Guides program.
Yes, the appeal option exists, and I used it. But relying solely on appeals does not fix the systemic problem — real, honest reviews can still be unfairly filtered and removed before users can even make them visible.
I hope Google considers improving the accuracy of the filters or adding more human review for cases like mine, because otherwise the system punishes truthful, helpful reviews instead of protecting the community.
I am a Level 8 Local Guide and I want to report a problem with the automated review system.
I wrote a factual review about a real purchase from eMAG Bulgaria: I ordered an ADATA SU650 2TB SSD and received a fake, unbranded product with manipulated firmware and false capacity. This was verified with diagnostic tools and real write tests.
The review contained no insults, no promotion, no speculation — only a description of what happened and a warning to other users.
Yet, the review was automatically removed as “fake engagement”. I submitted an appeal and have a screenshot of the removal message.
This shows that the system removes legitimate, fact-based reviews, which is exactly the opposite of what Google intends with Local Guides.
@Google Moderator, please review this case. I hope Google can improve filter accuracy or add more human review for cases like this, so real and helpful reviews are not unfairly removed.
I understand moderators may need time, but I’d like to stress that this is not a theoretical discussion.
This is a documented real case:
real purchase
real counterfeit product
real diagnostics and tests
real review
real appeal
real removal
At this point, silence looks like confirmation that legitimate consumer warnings are being filtered out with no human review, even when evidence exists.
Could a Google Moderator please confirm:
whether this specific case can be manually reviewed, and
how Local Guides are expected to report counterfeit products if such reviews are systematically removed?
I have screenshots and technical evidence available.
@Bogomil_Atanasov
We had the same identical conversation in a topic posted by you 3 days ago: Issue Posting Real Product Review Removed by Google
Starting a new topic about the same subject will not help you, nor the conversation about what you want to highlight.
Please note that, to keep Connect organised, I’m merging this topic with the previous one
Thank you for merging the topics. I understand the need to keep Connect organized.
However, I want to stress that this is not a repeated discussion for the sake of it — it is a documented, real case:
real purchase from eMAG Bulgaria
real counterfeit ADATA SU650 2TB SSD
real diagnostics and write tests
real review removed as “fake engagement”
real appeal submitted with screenshot
So far, no human review has been conducted, and silence leaves the impression that fact-based warnings about counterfeit products are automatically filtered out.
Could a Google Moderator please confirm:
Whether this specific case can be manually reviewed, and
How Local Guides are expected to report counterfeit products if such reviews are systematically removed?
I have all evidence available and can share it if required.
This is a real, documented case: I purchased an ADATA SU650 2TB SSD from eMAG Bulgaria. The product did not match specifications (verified with diagnostics and write tests). My original review was removed as “fake engagement” and only appeared after multiple edited attempts.
Can a Google Moderator confirm if human review is applied in such cases, and how Local Guides are expected to report counterfeit products if legitimate reviews are filtered automatically?
I want to stress that this is a documented, real case, not a theoretical discussion:
I purchased an ADATA SU650 2TB SSD from eMAG Bulgaria.
The product was counterfeit, unbranded, with manipulated firmware and false capacity, verified with diagnostic tools and write tests.
My original review was removed automatically as “fake engagement”.
After multiple edited attempts, the review was approved on the third submission and became visible.
However, I have now received an email stating that the review is being removed again by automated systems, despite being factual and already published.
This raises serious concerns:
Automated filters are removing legitimate, fact-based reviews, even after manual approval.
No human review seems to have been conducted so far.
Local Guides need clear guidance: how should factual reviews about counterfeit products be reported, if real warnings are automatically filtered?
All evidence, including screenshots and diagnostic results, is available.
Could a Google Moderator confirm that this case will receive human review and clarify the process to prevent legitimate consumer warnings from being automatically removed?