Google revealed how it keeps user-created reviews on Google Maps free of abuse and fraud in a new blog post and video.
Just like with other platforms dealing with moderation at scale, Google says it uses a mix of automated machine learning systems and human operators.
Google Uses Machine and Operators
The details come amidst growing scrutiny of user reviews on websites like Yelp and Google Maps. Businesses have been affected with negative reviews for implementing COVID-related health and safety measures, including vaccine requirements and masks, often beyond their control.
Other reviews have criticized businesses for not keeping the usual business hours during a pandemic, according to The Verge.
On Tuesday, Feb. 2, Yelp reported removing more than 15,000 reviews between April and December 2021 for violating its COVID-19 content guidelines.
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This is a 161% increase over the same period in 2020. Yelp stated that it removed over 70,200 reviews across almost 1,300 pages in 2021, with many resulting from review bombing incidents where coordinated reviews are submitted from users who have not actually patronized a business.
The search engine explains that every review posted on Google Maps is checked by its machine learning system, trained on the company's content policies to remove misleading reviews and abusive comments.
The system is trained to review both the contents of individual reviews, but it will also look for wider patterns, like a sudden increase in 1 or 5-star reviews, both from the account and reviews on the business, according to Engadget.
Google stated that human moderation comes into play for content flagged by end-users and businesses. Negative reviews that include abusive language can be removed, and user accounts can be suspended.
Google's product lead for user-generated content, Ian Leader, said that they have found that they need both the nuanced understanding that humans offer and the scale that machines provide to help them moderate contributed content.
Google Maps Tackle Review Bombing
Review bombing is a practice in which people barrage a business, service, or product with negative reviews. Review bombing can damage a small or local business that relies on positive reviews by customers online.
The search engine says millions of reviews are posted on Google Maps daily, and it has laid out some of the measures it employs to remove review bombing.
The Google Map team said they are dedicated to keeping the user-created content on Maps reliable and based on real-world experience.
That work helps protect businesses from online abuse and fraud and ensures that reviews are beneficial for users. Its content policies were designed to keep false, abusive, and misleading reviews off of the platform.
Machine learning also plays an important role in the moderation process. Ian Leader said that moderation systems are Google's first line of defense because they are good at identifying patterns and examining every review for policy violations.
They look at the content of the review, the user's account, the business' account, and whether there has been any unusual activity connected to a place like an increase in negative or positive reviews.
In 2021, Google launched a campaign to remove fake reviews on websites in the United Kingdom.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
