The Growing Problem Of Fake Restaurant Reviews

A growing problem in the world of online reviewing is the prevalence of false reviews, or deceptive opinion spam, which are "fictitious opinions that have been deliberately written to sound authentic, in order to deceive the reader," explains a recent Cornell University paper [pdf].

The New York Times recently explored the phenomenon of help-for-hire sites that will pay people to post positive reviews, regardless of the restaurant's actual quality -- or even without ever setting foot inside -- of certain establishments or products. As fake reviews amass, the proliferation of misinformation grows and sites begin to lose their credibility as unbiased review forums. Which perhaps explains why after the Cornell team published the paper, in which they developed a methodology to ferret out fake reviews, the researchers were contacted by over a dozen companies to help them spot the fake reviews.

Beyond pay-for-play positive reviews, there are also documented instances of downright inaccuracies that lead to false, but negative, reviews. Graham Elliot's Grahamwich in Chicago started getting negative reviews before it even opened. More recently, Brooklyn restaurant Anella requested that a fake review get removed, and Yelp declined.

Then again, there's also the problem of not necessarily fake reviews, but the ultimately useless ones, as is chronicled on the Tumblr Fuck You Yelper. Perhaps the Cornell researchers can develop an algorithm to filter out idiocy as well.

Comments

[thecarf]

12:21 PM on 08/24/2011

I'm a yelper and try to shy away from the site to be honest. I joined in the same spirit of the "F@$K You Yelper" author. The whole idea of having elites and non-elites is kind of high school - (Disclosure, I'm Elite - still trying to figure out why). With promotions, deals, chat and a caste structure, they seem to have lost their way. That's kind of why I keep my distance. I know that they want to make money but, that has really cheapened the whole experience.

Personally, I get excited about places that I like and, especially in this economy, do my best to promote them via good reviews. I've found you've gotta sift through people who are there for revenge or their egos. Some of them just want to get that badge that says they were first to review - seriously, the first review was posted for the UWS Sunburnt Calf a week before it opened and there was no mention of the food. Does that sound like a bogus review? Does to me!

Probably about 35% of the people are worth reading, to be honest. The rest have a grudge against a business, resent celebrity chefs, need to feel important or think that yelp is the new MySpace. It's easy to tell who's writing a bogus review and frustrating that they can't wipe out a ton of them. You know, remove the ones that don't mention food or talk about how drunk they were.

[cafecat]

01:19 PM on 08/23/2011

Many Yelpers are like those bloggers who are self-professed experts without any credentials. Their reviews smack of some internal emotional agenda, lack empathy and logic, and read like a valley girl's angst-ridden first poem. The anonymous reviewers are suspect, but the ones who reveal their identity full on? Man, they should be embarrassed.

[Rob Rice]

01:06 PM on 08/23/2011

Plazmaorb is obviously one of those silly Yelp elites. You are not a foodie. You are not a gastronome. You are not snarky, You are not funny. You are not cute. You are not revealing any great treasure to the rest of us. You go out to eat. You type your opinion on a free website that allows you to create a persona that (let's face it) both you and I know is not entirely you. Yelp is a scam thereby making you, Plazmaorb, a scam.

[Sarahrosenthal86]

12:41 PM on 08/23/2011

I love this article! How completely fascinating! I'm so glad I've been given this insight. Definitely a 10 of 10, in my opinion.

[illustratorblog]

12:13 PM on 08/23/2011

That's why we need local news to do the review for us what snobs really think

[Karl Wilder]

12:03 PM on 08/23/2011

I know a cooking school in San Francisco and almost all of the good reviews were written by the employees.

[plazmaorb]

11:28 AM on 08/23/2011

Grahamwich isnt that good.. its overpriced and over rated for what what they are serving... just cause you can cook, doesnt mean you can make a good sandwich.

I know I have seen a lot of people post fake reviews about restaurants that were on shows like Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares and so on... they would say it was bad, but just give it bad review just on watching the show but never being there. Especially when these reviews were posted the day of airing or the day after.

I think people need to read all the reviews, not just the good ones to see what people are saying and what their history is like as a reviewer.. how many followers and all that. I know im pretty harsh on Yelp, but its only cause im honest. Im not going to say something is good if it isnt. I have had the owners contact me to try and make it up to me cause of my reviews of their places.

[StevieTheK]

07:40 AM on 08/23/2011

"Perhaps the Cornell researchers can develop an algorithm to filter out idiocy as well."

Imagine the use that could get in several of the HuffPo sections! :)

[Americatheteenager]

06:32 AM on 08/23/2011

I usually ignore any reviewers with a single review... These profiles are usually created just for the sale of posting a fraudulent review...

[Imhrien]

03:24 PM on 08/23/2011

I googled my favorite Chinese restaurant once because I couldn't find my menu and needed the phone number to call in an order for pickup. I ran across the Yelp website and was shocked to see they had a lousy rating, so I posted a glowing review to let people know they should give it a chance and make up their own minds. It's the only review I've ever done on their website.

So we're not all frauds :)

[Rob Rice]

09:53 PM on 08/22/2011

People with no lives write on yelp.

[plazmaorb]

11:32 AM on 08/23/2011

I guess you dont get out of the house much, since you dont write on yelp to talk about your experiences.

[Rob Rice]

01:00 PM on 08/23/2011

So, if I don't write on yelp, I don't get out much? How does that make sense? I read those reviews and they remind me of the kids in school who got picked on. I'm not a bully, but it's not hard to understand why a bully would want to taunt them. The reviewers hide behind anonymous names, such as you, and write as if they think themselves cute and funny and snarky when in fact they've never been any of that their entire lives. I can't imagine owning a very small business is any fun, but to then have an international website pitted against you and then have that website favor the people who would spend only a few bucks versus an honest shop/ innkeeper seems very unfair. If by getting out much means going to restaurants every night of the week, then my friend, methinks you're the one who does not get out much.

[Targetdog]

09:52 PM on 08/22/2011

Yes there is a way. Have the reviewer post a scanned copy of the reciept of what they ate.

[plazmaorb]

11:31 AM on 08/23/2011

That wont mean anything, especially if they are getting paid.. they can be given a receipt by the owner.
I think actually checking in would be better than a receipt, cause you would need to be in the proximity of the place to actually have it let you check in. I check in everywhere i go to eat and shop, so people know im actually going there, not just saying i am.

[misterbill99]

01:05 PM on 09/06/2011

So now you're going to exclude anyone who doesn't have a Smartphone, by requiring people to check in for their review to be counted.

[captainspirou]

07:46 PM on 08/22/2011

Depending on how much the restaurant values yelp you could devise a system where certain reviews are tagged as verifying that they actually went to the restaurant. This can be done by typing in a code that is printed on the receipt. To encourage people to do this there can be a point system for every review they post like this which leads to the opportunity to trade points for discounts and deals.

[LOLatGOP]

07:05 PM on 08/22/2011

Yelp is a scam. They're just trying to get to IPO before the masses figure it out.

[plazmaorb]

11:29 AM on 08/23/2011

How is it a scam? That makes no sense

[ArChiMi]

05:49 PM on 08/22/2011

Simple. Ignore Yelp like I do.

[plazmaorb]

11:33 AM on 08/23/2011

and how do you find out about places and what they have to offer?

[ArChiMi]

11:51 AM on 08/23/2011

Word of mouth from friends who have the same taste. I stop by at places I see on my way home from work to try them out. When an article is written about a new restaurant, I like to try it out regardless of the opinion of the writer. Our local magazine always lists new restaurants.

[shthar]

05:01 PM on 08/22/2011

I pretty much figure if there are no mispelled words its faek.

[ontariogirl]

08:21 PM on 08/22/2011

Kinda like a frawd?

[StevieTheK]

07:40 AM on 08/23/2011

bowgus