Yelp: "We Don't Take Sides on Factual Disputes"

Categories: Media
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I had to pass along a story from SFoodie, the food blog of SF Weekly, our sister paper in San Francisco. Seems a Yelp user posted a review in which "she" claimed to be a writer for the SF Weekly. She isn't. Never was.

Now, SF Weekly's W. Blake Gray had enough trouble just getting in touch with Yelp officials to discuss the lie, but the response that he finally did receive was even more frustrating.

In an email, a rep from Yelp headquarters told Gray that since the review "appears to reflect the personal experience and opinions of the reviewer, we are leaving it intact." Furthermore, the rep adds, "we don't take sides in factual disputes."

Gotta love the language there: "factual disputes." Of course, there's no dispute. The facts are established. One party simply doesn't recognize it, and Yelp doesn't want to get its hands dirty.

This specific review appears to have been filtered, so it no longer appears when you search the reviews of the restaurant in question -- though you can still read it if you know to look for it. But that isn't really the story. Business owners and Yelp users alike should know that when it comes to the facts, Yelp passes the buck.

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2 comments
Nicole
Nicole

I hate YELP! They will filter all the positive reviews & leave ONLY the Negative reviews followed by a pushy sales person asking for $299 a month to give you "Control" over the reviews! When you send them 100 letters asking them to remove Prejudice or fake raciest comments, they send an e-mail with NO way to reply to it saying that the review seems legit & it reflects the opinion of the user. OK so its ok to leave raciest, fake & slanderous lies which are NOT covered by the freedom of speech? OK then when hitler did & said all those raciest comments he should have posted it on YELP!

Pimco
Pimco

Big fracking deal.  So what if I write a review saying I'm the Queen of England?  Or a professional chef?  Or a nice guy? (all lies)  Yelp can't police every single thing.  The shitty reviews eventually get weeded out while the trustworthy ones rise to the top.  Yelp owns your soul.

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