Key Highlights
- Google removes 170 million from Maps & Search.
- New AI helps catch suspicious review patterns.
- Google blocks hackers & protects profiles.
Remember that glowing 5-star review that convinced you to try that new restaurant?
It might have been a fake. Google recently announced it removed a staggering 170 million policy-violating reviews from Search and Maps in 2023, marking a significant step in the fight against online deception.
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How Google Detects Fake Reviews
The new ML algorithm goes beyond spotting obvious fakes. It analyzes long-term patterns, identifying suspicious activity like:
- Identical reviews posted across multiple businesses.
- Sudden surges of 1-star or 5-star ratings for a particular business.
- This helps catch more sophisticated manipulation attempts.
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Google Removed Fake Reviews
- Google removed a staggering 170 million fake reviews from Search and Maps in 2023, thanks to a new machine learning (ML) algorithm.
- This represents a 45% increase in fake review takedowns compared to the previous year.
- 12 million fake business profiles were also blocked, preventing further manipulation.
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Google Attempt To Protect Businesses
- Google also blocked 2 million fraudulent attempts by hackers to claim legitimate business profiles.
- It provided temporary protections to over 123,000 businesses targeted by suspicious activity.
- These measures help ensure genuine businesses maintain control of their online presence.
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What This Means for You:
- You can be more confident in the reviews you see on Google Search and Maps.
- Be wary of reviews that seem too good/bad to be true or follow suspicious patterns.
- Support businesses with genuine, helpful reviews and report suspicious activity you encounter.
Overall, Google’s actions represent a significant step forward in the fight against online manipulation. By leveraging technology, taking legal action, and protecting businesses, they are working to create a more trustworthy and transparent online environment for everyone.
