As tensions flare over war in Gaza, local businesses have felt the sting of bad reviews motivated by politics rather than purchases.
Online, people who have never visited an establishment or bought its product may have heard that the owner or employee made an anti-Palestinian or anti-Israeli remark, or that they supported or raised funds for one side or another. They turn their anger to online reviews on sites like Yelp, Google and TripAdvisor. Reviews can contain insults or slurs and be untrue or exaggerated.
Technology companies have been more vigilant in removing suspicious reviews, using artificial intelligence to monitor and remove content that violates their policies. But even a temporary onslaught of one-star reviews can harm a business’ reputation and bottom line.
Experts say there are concrete steps that business owners can and should take to manage reviews and to respond to the negative ones.
“You have to track it,” said Michael Melen, co-founder and co-CEO of SmartSites, a digital marketing agency in Paramus. “You have to be proactive in reporting these reviews and doing everything you can to get them removed. If not, you are hurting yourself a lot. Ninety-odd percent of consumers check online reviews of businesses before going to a business.”
One-star reviews
Assem Hassen, owner of Crazy Bagel in East Brunswick, said he avoided talking politics or turning on the news at work to keep people happy. When a customer tried to change the television channel to the Israeli prime minister’s speech to Congress, an employee declined.
The customer grew irate, said Hassen, and insulted his employees. The customer later wrote on a community Facebook page that the employee, referring to him mistakenly as the owner, had praised Hamas as heroes. Hassen, who was present during the exchange, said that never happened.
Hassen opened the business nine months ago and said he has tried to build relationships with customers, including by donating food for a synagogue event about three months ago. Suspicious one-star reviews were removed from online sites, but the customer’s version of events remains on Facebook.
“I never did anything wrong," said Hassen. "I tried to be professional. If someone calls you racist, or say you hate the Jewish, it’s not fair.”
Another business, Blue Moon Hotel in New York City, was slammed with bad reviews after social media posts spread about the owner’s son, who is serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. The son posted videos, from his tank’s view, that showed a mosque and residential buildings being blown up, followed by the sounds of soldiers cheering. Outrage quickly spread online and that translated to bad reviews.
Scott Capone, an assistant manager at the hotel, said the family who owns the hotel, who are from Passaic, has been active in community service and the arts. Websites like Google and Yelp removed the reviews within days, but the backlash was hostile, he said.
“They’re trying to shut people down and are doxxing them,” Capone said. “It’s not normal. We’re living in a scary time.”
Other businesses have been targeted. In Marlboro, Heba Macksoud told The Record in December that her pharmacy got a slew of one-star reviews after she posted “I stand with Palestine” on a town Facebook page where many had written in support of Israel. A local rabbi posted the name of her pharmacy and called her a “terrorist enabler.”
Jacob Goldberg, owner of Yalla Teaneck, a kosher eatery, told the Jewish Link in 2022 that he also faced one-star reviews from an anti-Israel audience who accused him of “stealing” Palestinian food and the name. Yalla is an Arabic word meaning "let’s go" or "hurry" and has become a part of Israeli slang. The reviews were removed, and he got a swell of online support that brought his overall rating back up, he told the publication.
Not just the Middle East
The Middle East conflict has divided communities, but it is hardly the only issue driving politically motivated reviews. People have also targeted businesses over support for Donald Trump, over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and over their stance on COVID vaccinations and LGBTQ issues.
Last month, the company Sticker Mule came under fire for sending out a mass email in support of Trump's election campaign following the assassination attempt against him. Some consumers called for a boycott while Yelp attached a “unusual activity alert” on top of the company page.
“This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news,” Yelp stated on the page. "While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”
In an era where information and misinformation spreads rapidly online, many professionals and business owners are choosing to stay quiet about politics altogether, Melen said.
AI used to catch false reviews
Just a few years ago, suspicious reviews might have lingered for weeks or months until a person at a company received and investigated a report. Now, reviews are monitored by artificial intelligence programs as a first level of defense.
The programs detect unusual patterns of behavior to identify suspicious activity. They can detect when an account receives a large number of reviews in a short period of time or when a review is written in the same style as others.
Reviews flagged for hate speech or discrimination are high priority and are typically removed within one to two days, said Melen. Even so, third-party sites that aggregate reviews may grab and use the data before it is scrubbed, he added.
Most private sites have terms and conditions that say reviews must reflect real customer experiences. Still, it can be hard to detect if a person lies that they visited a store or at a restaurant, Melen noted. Some may simply leave a one-star review with no comment.
Business owners and managers can submit complaints about reviews that they feel are dishonest or violate policies, but companies can take months to respond when the circumstances are murkier. In the meantime, Melen said, they should encourage their customers to post positive reviews to counter the bad ones.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “It’s not just about having a very good business and having good service, but all of a sudden politics is in the mix as well.”
What can businesses do about bad online reviews?
- Regularly monitor their online presence, including review sites and social media platforms.
- Respond to negative reviews professionally and courteously.
- Encourage customers to write reviews about positive experiences.
- If you believe a review is false or malicious, report it to the platform and provide evidence to support your claim. The Federal Trade Commission has instructions for reporting to Amazon, Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot and Yelp on its website under “How To Report Suspicious Online Reviews.”
- Consider using reputation management tools to check for and respond to negative or false reviews.
