Your review has not been published. Do you know why?

[ErmesT]

When the message first appeared in my contributions, and I received an email saying "Your review has not been published because: Google's moderation systems and processes have identified content that could be fake engagement" my reaction was a mix of confusion and consternation. After years of explaining the rules in the community, I found myself being accused of the most vile thing: writing fake reviews.

Caption: recolored photo of ”the moss has got a pair of eye” by Paul Maheke. Photo taken by me at the Temporary Atlas Art Exhibition, Galleria delle Prigioni, Treviso, Fe. 12, 2022, and the text “Your review has not been published. Do you know why?”

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a person who complains, nor a person who gives up: instead of writing here to complain, I tried to study the problem, and to understand what could be the reason for that message, or rather, the reason that had led an algorithm to act in this way, not only towards me, but towards those of many others.

Excluding that "Everyone at Google was incompetent" and that "Google hates me" the reason had to be different, and it didn't take long to figure it out.

A few weeks later I was adamant that reviews would be completely removed from all online service providers. I mean ALL the reviews, the new ones and the old ones, and I thought the “write a review” button would be gone.

Do you know why?

To understand this we need to understand the power that our reviews have. How many of us, before going to eat in a new place, read the reviews and look at the photos? How many of us choose to buy a product based on reviews?

Our contributions help others make choices. How many times have we heard that?

What if the contributions aren't true? What benefit would untrue reviews bring to a business? Or what disadvantage, if they were made against a competitor? All Local Guides active in this community know it, many have reported it. Many times these things are so naive as to even appear pathetic. Businesses filled with reviews by people who have written a review or two at most.

But when are the reviews made by users with dozens of reviews? Then we're probably going to think they're authentic, aren't we?

Well, a quick web search would tell you that reviews aren't always authentic, and that the problem isn't just Google Maps. Try looking at the screenshot below. The numbers are impressive

Caption: a series of titles of articles taken from the web where the problem of false reviews is reported

We also have to keep in mind one thing: in many countries fake reviews are illegal, because they cause undeserved damage or benefits to businesses. Furthermore, the legally responsible for these damages is considered the owner of the platform that hosts the reviews, in our case Google Maps.

Caption: a series of titles of articles taken from the web which signal the legal responsibility of false reviews

Well, if you were responsible for Google, what would you have done? I have already written what I would have expected Google to do: “I was adamant that reviews would be completely removed from all online service providers”.

The Google Maps solution

A first explanation of the problem can be found in this post by @MortenCopenhagen , where he shared an article posted on the Google blog: How we kept information on Maps reliable in 2021, followed by a post in Connect in which Google explained the new policy, which could be summarized as: we block everything that looks suspicious, and then we analyze (and release) the content of the appealers: An update on how we moderate Google Maps reviews.

Furthermore, recently Google is starting to improve a more detailed communication system, in which we are informed of every single blocked review, and we have the possibility to directly ask for an operator's verification for that review. The improvement is rolling out in several countries.

I wrote about that on Dec. 9, 2022: Finally a bit of help - Are you aware of your review status?

This does not mean that the other rules no longer exist. On the contrary, there will continue to be blocked reviews based on the "classic" rules of reviews, but we must also be aware of this new situation, and act accordingly.

How to behave?

First of all by understanding that the problem is not with those who block reviews, but with those who provide fake reviews. Have you ever been contacted by someone inviting you to write reviews for places you don't know? I know for a fact that it has happened to many, here in Connect or in other places.

• Reporting anyone offering money, or discounts, in exchange for fake reviews could be a first step.
• Discourage our friends, or anyone we know, who may have been asked to do untrue reviews.
• Report inappropriate reviews on business listings.
• Flag Businesses who ask for positive reviews in exchange for a discount.

As Local Guides we have our honor to defend, and whoever acts in that way, in addition to damaging the business, also damages us and our credibility.

Our account is valid, and above all it is not for sale!

Caption: A screenshot taken from the web of Fake Local Guides Accounts for sale

[ArmyOfNobunaga]

Best post I’ve seen in this space.

I’m a lowly level 8 reviewer but my family and my have made this a side hobby the last 3 years.

I am very computer savvy… and I’ll say this…

The google review referee algorithm is TIGHT. You have to really figure out what characters and words and numbers and actions trigger it to withhold your review!!!

I see the good and bad In it. The good is they only allow quality. The bad is the algorithm really screws with us that are altruistic in our hobby.

example….

family went to a hotel. I took a lot of photos. Wife took some when I left camera in the room and texted me the photos. I do a review. It’s great. Then wife gets a hotel app text asking for her to review the hotel. Yep… she uses one of the same photos. 

we got google LOCK DOWN lol. I explained to her that she can’t do that because it looks like we took photos from another review service. But damage was done.

so I did what o typically do, delete the last ten or so reviews we worked hard on… and after a while my account became un-shadow banned again.

google don’t play around folks. Use some numbers for prices for example. They will lock you down.

goodness , NEVER leave a link haha.

DONT UPVOTE YOUR OWN STUFF

DONT HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER OR FRIEND UPVOTE  UOUR OWN STUFF!

we are not smarter than a.i , folks.

[ErmesT]

Haha, that's true @ArmyOfNobunaga 

Thanks for sharing your interesting story 

[Defence1]

Ja das mag alles sein. Aber selbst wenn ich meinen Tierarzt bewerten will wird mir eine gefälschte Rezension vorgeworfen. Wenn ich ein Museum bei uns im Ort in der Burg bewerten will wird mir eine gefälschte Bewertung vorgeworfen. Wenn ich ein Naherholungsgebiet bei uns bewerten will und sogar Fotos hinzufügen wird mir eine gefälschte Bewertung vorgeworfen. Am besten ist glaube ich, ich versuche einfach nicht mehr irgendetwas zu bewerten. Denn wenn ohnehin 90% der bewertungen abgelehnt werden macht das alles keinen Sinn mehr.

[Amiran]

Thank you dear @ErmesT for writing this post. As I see, by adding that description in the reviews section, the number of complaints here on Connect is increasing and a reference post will be helpful for users.

[Xentix]

Stimme ich dir vollkommen zu, erfahre gerade genau das Gleiche. Egal was ich Bewerte wird alles abgelehnt und muss Einspruch einlegen. Das ist so ein Quatsch geworden. Wenn das so weiter geht höre ich damit auf, habe das eigentlich sehr gerne gemacht, aber so macht das einfach keinen spaß mehr. 

[Defence1]

Richtig.  Und vor allem werden die Einsprüche ebenfalls entweder gar nicht bearbeitet,  oder man bekommt nur die Antwort "wurde nicht gepostet" erneut mit der gleichen Begründung. Ich werde definitiv nicht damit anfangen für jedes Restaurant oder Geschäft das ich gehe als Nachweis Quittungen vorlegen. Entweder Google will Leute die rezensionen schreiben - oder eben nicht, wonach es für mich aussieht.

[Xentix]

Jap same. Das ist totaler nonsence, sie sehen doch in der Zeitachse mit den GPS daten, dass ich da war. Und ich poste eigentlich zu jeder Review ein Foto. Aber trotzdem gehen sie auf nicht published. Jetzt bekomme ich täglich E-Mails das alte Review heruntergenommen werden. Also wenn sich hier nichts ändert bin ich leider raus, ist mir die Mühe nicht Wert. 

[TassiloK]

Hi @ErmesT 

thankyou for your post. That explain Something but not everything.

I give Google my Geodata. Google knows when and where I am. My Timeline is accurate.

Every Review I wrote is added by Photos with GPS data.

I write the Reviews almost within 24h when I left the place.

So Google should have enough data to see that I am not writing fake stuff.

Then a little AI of my Interactions with Maps since 2014 and a Maschine should be able to identify me as a normal LG and not a bot.

I am still disappointed. A lot of LG will leave Maps, cuz this is not the way, they want to be treated.

As a result Maps is free of fakes, but also free of content that helps really.

I hope that Google noticed the importance of that issue.

Best regards

Tassilo 

[Gezendunyali]

Hi @ErmesT , it is one of the most beautiful articles I have seen, and there have been a lot of complaints in my country lately, especially by purchasing Spam accounts and commenting on businesses. This really does have a demoralizing effect sometimes, but the guides to the real place try to resist it rather than give up. One of my most important suggestions in this regard is to rank the guides according to their level while listing the comments. Because when we look at it, SPAM accounts are only at level 1. But the interpretations of the guides at the tenth and ninth level who have really worked will be more realistic.In fact, Google should provide more organization in these countries, for example, when I look at Turkey, the Google office does not take any action on this issue, and it is even impossible to reach the office. I believe that an application most used by people traveling in the world at the moment should be more organized, and even as here, they can be helped when selecting moderators on Google Maps and examining Spam accounts.