Thanks for this post, @MAP333 . It’s important that more and more Local Guides become aware of the problem.
However, this is, and will be, an endless conversation, divided between those who protest because there are fake reviews and those who protest because “my honest review was blocked.”
Google is making a huge effort, as @MortenCopenhagen also says, to filter reviews properly, however I believe that if we don’t take a look at the “real” size of the problem we won’t be able to discuss it properly.
We’re talking about a platform with 500 million contributors. Most are honest, some aren’t.
- “Fake” reviews aren’t always labeled “fake review.” The ones you’ve shown are a clear example of fake reviews, but the reviews are often very well written and may seem completely authentic.
- “Fake” reviews aren’t always paid for; they’re often created to gain points from dishonest Local Guides. I could name at least three types of these:
- AI-generated reviews, sometimes pasted without even reading what they’re posting. I’ve seen some funny ones, like “I recently visited [business name] and was very pleased.”
- Reviews in which the Local Guide writes the business category as the review, such as “School, Seafood Restaurant.”
- “Generalist” reviews generated by AI or copied from websites, describing the business without sharing any personal experience.
Then, of course, there are paid reviews. These too can be of two types: Created to boost your own rating; Created to discredit competitors. Sometimes they’re easy to spot, other times not.
This is where the law comes into play, or rather, the laws of various countries, created to protect consumers and businesses. All platforms hosting online reviews must comply, adapting their actions to the various laws or adopting the most restrictive ones.
Unfortunately, neither Google nor any platform has direct power over these businesses that sell online reviews, unless they are located in a country where this is prohibited.
Therefore, it is not possible to block them, but only to address the effects of their illegal work.
This is no easy task, and every now and then I expect Maps to remove reviews (the ability to leave reviews) from its service.
So it saddens me to occasionally read, even here on Connect, banal comments like “blocked reviews are a known Maps bug” and “Google needs to do something.”
I believe that in reality a lot is being done, and that honest local guides can contribute to this by reporting, reporting, reporting.
Two years ago I wanted to write a post just about this: Your review has not been published. Do you know why?
I’ll add a note that might make you smile. Often, these businesses that offer money in exchange for reviews are scammers. I still remember a Local Guide who wrote to Connect years ago complaining that he hadn’t been paid after writing the requested fake reviews, and demanding payment from Google. 