Tripadvisor is tackling fake reviews head-on

I really wish I was the type of person to submit reviews for everything from clothing to hotels because they’re extremely helpful. But honestly, I’m lazy. 

If something about the review feels off to me, I roll my eyes and move on, but a conglomerate of fake reviews can totally sway the overall rating, and I’m not here for that. Either is Tripadvisor, who has been hard at work diligently detecting and stopping over 1 million reviews in 2022 alone, according to the platform’s recently released 2023 Review Transparency report.

Spotting fake reviews 

Tripadvisor considers reviews as fake if they are submitted by biased individuals or 

those who did not have a personal experience with the business being reviewed. In 2022, Tripadvisor detected 1.3 million fake reviews, accounting for 4.4% of all submissions. However, 72% of these fake reviews were prevented from being published due to the company’s improved systems and approach.

Where are the fake reviews coming from? 

Of the fake reviews detected in 2022, over 24,500 were associated with paid review companies. Six countries (India, Russia, United States, Turkey, Italy, and Vietnam) contributed to nearly half of them. This underscores the global challenge faced by Tripadvisor in detecting and preventing fake reviews from diverse sources.

Tips for travelers

Be your own detective and look out for signs of fake reviews including a reviewer with a new account and no other reviews; a sudden influx of reviews from accounts with limited history; short and vague reviews without specific details; repetitive language and grammar patterns; and inconsistency with other trusted sources.