Yelp to place “alert” on businesses accused of racism(blog.yelp.com)
blog.yelp.com
Yelp to place “alert” on businesses accused of racism
https://blog.yelp.com/2020/10/new-consumer-alert-on-yelp-takes-firm-stance-against-racism
100 comments
What’s to stop someone from filing false claims of bad service? Add racism to the list. Rooting out false claims is pretty much Yelp’s main service. Or maybe getting kickbacks to hide real claims of bad service is their main service? It’s an imperfect system, but a person looking to avoid aggressive or even passive racist treatment might like to error on the side of caution. An extra partially noisy bit of data seems worth it.
Being accused of racism is much more deleterious than of bad service.
This surely isn’t always or even usually the case. A local business owner recently made some racist comments on Facebook and ended up seeing a massive lines of people in MAGA gear in the following days.
I still wonder if there could be any negative externalities or consequences that would counterbalance the benefit of helping those cautious folk.
Perhaps YELP is taking advantage of the fact that it is not a perfect world and subsequently using that flaw as a business model by possibly extorting fees to have such claims removed.
There has to be a news article about it. If you can get the Chicago Tribune to vet and cover your accusation, Yelp will note it. If not, they won’t.
> Maybe I overlooked it, but what’s to prevent a person (or group of people) from filing false claims of racist behavior?
What’s to stop a person from making a false claim of racist behavior against any person/public figure/politician/businessperson/colleague... they don’t like? The answer is “nothing at all”, and it happens everyday. If you’re particularly unlucky it will be scandalized publicly and appear as a permanent mark on your social credit score.
Yelp is just incorporating our own social norms into their product. If you don’t like it, it’s not their fault.
What’s to stop a person from making a false claim of racist behavior against any person/public figure/politician/businessperson/colleague... they don’t like? The answer is “nothing at all”, and it happens everyday. If you’re particularly unlucky it will be scandalized publicly and appear as a permanent mark on your social credit score.
Yelp is just incorporating our own social norms into their product. If you don’t like it, it’s not their fault.
It's different though when they are the ones putting a "racist" flag because of some random customer defaming you. They have absolutely no way to verify hearsay. They have to stay out of it.
That’s not quite what they’re doing. But it doesn’t really matter. As a society, we have already very clearly established that as a perfectly acceptable threshold for upholding an accusation of racism.
[deleted]
It's a good thing that Yelp will not be doing that then:
Yelp’s User Operations team already places alerts
on business pages when we notice an unusual uptick
in reviews that are based on what someone may have
seen in the news or on social media, rather than
on a first-hand experience with the business. Now,
when a business gains public attention for reports
of racist conduct, such as using racist language
or symbols, Yelp will place a new Business Accused
of Racist Behavior Alert on their Yelp page to
inform users, along with a link to a news article
where they can learn more about the incident.So let me get this straight? You are not going to put alerts on buisnesses that you recieved first hand information on being racist but instead use second hand news as the bar to decide wether or not do so?
I think there was a hit Fleetwood Mac song about that strategy, or maybe it was Marvin Gaye.
Why don't you just be honest and admit the real reason for this contrived change in policy and message was to drive attention towards YELP. It is nothing more than a publicity stunt leveraging the current state of unrest.
From the number of comments on this site, it worked.
I think there was a hit Fleetwood Mac song about that strategy, or maybe it was Marvin Gaye.
Why don't you just be honest and admit the real reason for this contrived change in policy and message was to drive attention towards YELP. It is nothing more than a publicity stunt leveraging the current state of unrest.
From the number of comments on this site, it worked.
Damn...they totally got me and I didn't even pause to think of that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yelp
This company is what I would call "unhelpful" to stay diplomatic. I think this decision is to increase extortion to buy their ad services.
edit: perhaps they just want to forward accusations:
https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-yelp-phoneix-insiders...
This company is what I would call "unhelpful" to stay diplomatic. I think this decision is to increase extortion to buy their ad services.
edit: perhaps they just want to forward accusations:
https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-yelp-phoneix-insiders...
BLM protestors, just went into "Trader Joe" in Seattle to call them out for being Racist
https://youtu.be/-UF1foStzKw (starts at -46 min)
The Yelp reviews are already coming in .... power to the mob!
At some point all these Billions from Tech companies funding increasingly fringe woke ideas, will backfire, when the equity for all mob takes power, and aims directly at the billionaire tech oppressors.
The mock guillotine outside Jeff Bezos home earlier this year, was a taste of things to come.
https://youtu.be/-UF1foStzKw (starts at -46 min)
The Yelp reviews are already coming in .... power to the mob!
At some point all these Billions from Tech companies funding increasingly fringe woke ideas, will backfire, when the equity for all mob takes power, and aims directly at the billionaire tech oppressors.
The mock guillotine outside Jeff Bezos home earlier this year, was a taste of things to come.
I like to think of this as "The Yelp Struggle Sessions"
With such Orwellian newspeak/doublespeak as "Silence is Violence," this is just a taste of the dangerous hyper-normalization to come.
I don't freedom of speech doesn't cover business entities, but libel and defamation does. I don't see how this doesn't open up Yelp to massive litigation.
With such Orwellian newspeak/doublespeak as "Silence is Violence," this is just a taste of the dangerous hyper-normalization to come.
I don't freedom of speech doesn't cover business entities, but libel and defamation does. I don't see how this doesn't open up Yelp to massive litigation.
Given so much reported behavior over the summer this feature, while well intended, sounds horrible. In several isolated incidents people were making all kinds of noise about racism if people or businesses didn’t vehemently express agreement with certain opinions. That’s not racism. I remember seeing the mayors of Chicago and DC call out some of those specifically.
Well, that's the whole point of this feature - to prevent a store from being flooded with negative reviews while the alert is active.
The optics backfire, though. Instead of saying, 'This establishment is likely to have manipulated reviews', the appearance to the average user is, 'This establishment has been accused of racist behaviour' - the latter sticks out far more than the former.
It also links to the news article(s) in question.
It’s a feature that says: “rather than letting mobs review-bomb places, we’re going to temporarily block all reviews and just link to the article because that’s the relevant thing”
It’s a feature that says: “rather than letting mobs review-bomb places, we’re going to temporarily block all reviews and just link to the article because that’s the relevant thing”
Key phrase: “where we can link to a news article”
There’s not going to be an “accuse of racism” button. This feature is “if a business is being publicly accused of racism in a credible newspaper, we’ll note it on the page.” Which is a lot more reasonable, imo.
There’s not going to be an “accuse of racism” button. This feature is “if a business is being publicly accused of racism in a credible newspaper, we’ll note it on the page.” Which is a lot more reasonable, imo.
> credible newspaper
Does such a thing exist anymore?
Does such a thing exist anymore?
Yes? Especially for local news.
You're joking right?
What’s the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ever done to you? Or the Altoona Mirror?
What's a reasonable newspaper?
The NYT has lost its mind over the 1619 project. If I can trust the NYT to get basic facts of history right who can I trust in media?
The NYT has lost its mind over the 1619 project. If I can trust the NYT to get basic facts of history right who can I trust in media?
I’m a fan of the Sun-Gazette in the DC area, personally. I’ve heard good things about the State-Journal Register, too.
Forgive the snark, but the existence of unreasonable organizations does not preclude the existence of reasonable ones. And even unreasonable ones are not incapable of reason. Applies to people within the orgs, too.
Forgive the snark, but the existence of unreasonable organizations does not preclude the existence of reasonable ones. And even unreasonable ones are not incapable of reason. Applies to people within the orgs, too.
How many credible newspapers are currently being sued for falsely labelling people as racist?
So when CNN and MSNBC call that smiling trump kid a racist and assumed he was wrong, we were supposed to believe they had honest intentions from the start?
Newspapers have retractions. Yelp has an extortion policy to remove bad reviews. And you can bet they won't remove that flag even if there are 30 retractions.
Newspapers have retractions. Yelp has an extortion policy to remove bad reviews. And you can bet they won't remove that flag even if there are 30 retractions.
That’s fair - if CNN is covering a rando restaurant, things have gotten out of hand. Probably best just to block reviews for that restaurant, no? Because that’s what the feature is.
Regardless, CNN doesn’t often cover these stories. Local news does. And local news doesn’t suck.
Btw, please forgive the snark, but a complete lack of faith in local journalism (I.e. a conflation of CNN and the Altoona Mirror) is a big reason cable news has a lot of power.
TLDR - support local journalists!
Regardless, CNN doesn’t often cover these stories. Local news does. And local news doesn’t suck.
Btw, please forgive the snark, but a complete lack of faith in local journalism (I.e. a conflation of CNN and the Altoona Mirror) is a big reason cable news has a lot of power.
TLDR - support local journalists!
"And local news doesn’t suck."
Almost every single "business accused of racism" story in the media story turns out to be a hoax. (for obvious reasons, being a victim is now the way to societal approval)
Local news covers these accusations, so it doesn't matter whether they're accurate about the fact that there is no actual evidence for a claim, that will still allow Yelp to label the business as "accused of racism".
Almost every single "business accused of racism" story in the media story turns out to be a hoax. (for obvious reasons, being a victim is now the way to societal approval)
Local news covers these accusations, so it doesn't matter whether they're accurate about the fact that there is no actual evidence for a claim, that will still allow Yelp to label the business as "accused of racism".
>That’s fair - if CNN is covering a rando restaurant, things have gotten out of hand. Probably best just to block reviews for that restaurant, no? Because that’s what the feature is.
CNN has bullied redditors to make a public apology and never say anything cnn editors consider racist or else: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/6lcdp9/did_...
>CNN is not publishing "HanAholeSolo's" name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.
>CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.
CNN has bullied redditors to make a public apology and never say anything cnn editors consider racist or else: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/6lcdp9/did_...
>CNN is not publishing "HanAholeSolo's" name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.
>CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.
It is interesting and slightly horrifying how Puritanism continues to echo throughout American culture, ostensibly by people who claim to be non-religious.
Thankfully augmented reality hasn’t quite taken off yet. Can you imagine being branded “undesirable” by an unaccountable tech giant, then having facial recognition tech display this mark of witchcraft everywhere you go?
Thankfully augmented reality hasn’t quite taken off yet. Can you imagine being branded “undesirable” by an unaccountable tech giant, then having facial recognition tech display this mark of witchcraft everywhere you go?
It's strange to me how holding secular enlightenment values like the natural equality of all people is considered "puritanical" or "horrific".
People want to support businesses that help create the society they expect.
You can criticize, pointedly even, the way that Yelp proposes to enforce this policy; especially in light of their controversial business practices.
But let's not put a blanket condemnation of acknowledging when businesses promote racism, or the desire to patronize other institutions.
People want to support businesses that help create the society they expect.
You can criticize, pointedly even, the way that Yelp proposes to enforce this policy; especially in light of their controversial business practices.
But let's not put a blanket condemnation of acknowledging when businesses promote racism, or the desire to patronize other institutions.
That isn’t the problem. The problem is relying on biased, unaccountable, dubious information for making such accusations...just like the Salem witch trials, the McCarthy anti-communist trials, etc. New social situation, same puritanical story.
This is doubly a problem when words like racist have recently been redefined in ways that are impossible for the average person to keep up with.
This is doubly a problem when words like racist have recently been redefined in ways that are impossible for the average person to keep up with.
> This is doubly a problem when words like racist have recently been redefined in ways that are impossible for the average person to keep up with
It is easy. If you are white, you are racist.
It is easy. If you are white, you are racist.
> You can criticize, pointedly even, the way that Yelp proposes to enforce this policy; especially in light of their controversial business practices.
Like I said, criticize how they implement it.
But I think it's evident how disingenuous your comparisons are by the examples you've chosen. Witchcraft, communism... neither are provable actions you can "commit". They are thought crimes. Racism is something you commit against a people or persons, is provably true.
Like I said, criticize how they implement it.
But I think it's evident how disingenuous your comparisons are by the examples you've chosen. Witchcraft, communism... neither are provable actions you can "commit". They are thought crimes. Racism is something you commit against a people or persons, is provably true.
Provable how?
Video recording? Easily manipulated.
First-hand accounts? Easily fabricated.
Even then, what exactly are you proving? It is unclear what racism even means to this political faction, as we can tell with white silence is violence and similar slogans. Merely choosing to not repeat a political slogan is characterized as racism.
As always, the proper solution is via actual legal channels and laws against discrimination, not a tech website that brands people. If a business is demonstrably racist, sue them and you’ll win in court. That’s how the legal system works.
Video recording? Easily manipulated.
First-hand accounts? Easily fabricated.
Even then, what exactly are you proving? It is unclear what racism even means to this political faction, as we can tell with white silence is violence and similar slogans. Merely choosing to not repeat a political slogan is characterized as racism.
As always, the proper solution is via actual legal channels and laws against discrimination, not a tech website that brands people. If a business is demonstrably racist, sue them and you’ll win in court. That’s how the legal system works.
As always, the proper solution is via actual legal channels and laws against libel, not dictating how a tech website should meet the needs of it's customers. If a business is demonstrably not racist, sue Yelp and the newspaper Yelp links to and they'll win in court. That's how the legal system works.
The idea that racism is a political slogan is truly sad, and I'm sorry for the world you feel that way.
Instead of offering holier-than-thou ‘I’m truly sorry for you’ dismissals, I suggest you do some research on the points I made. It is a very complex situation.
"natural equality of all people"
The vast majority of people everywhere agree with this. It's not exactly enlightenment values anymore.
The issue is with people who think that they're morally superior for holding this view while they label everyone else with extremes.
The vast majority of people everywhere agree with this. It's not exactly enlightenment values anymore.
The issue is with people who think that they're morally superior for holding this view while they label everyone else with extremes.
Can we then look forward to Yelp serving up 'this business is accused of being run by a white person' warnings?
I figure that the businesses accused of racism would try extra hard to be nice so visiting them exclusively would be a net positive.
Much how working for woke companies usually leads to a 20% drop in salary because you're getting paid in good feelings.
Much how working for woke companies usually leads to a 20% drop in salary because you're getting paid in good feelings.
> Much how working for woke companies usually leads to a 20% drop in salary because you're getting paid in good feelings.
Can you provide an example? Usually I see the label "woke companies" applied to places like Google and Stripe and Netflix which are also known for their particularly high salaries.
Can you provide an example? Usually I see the label "woke companies" applied to places like Google and Stripe and Netflix which are also known for their particularly high salaries.
Having worked for Exxon and Raytheon the salary premium for the same position was substantial compared to Google and Facebook, to the point I was getting paid one level above what I would have otherwise.
F&G make up a lot of the compensation in stocks so total comp looks great. The benefits in Exxon (and Raytheon) were insane, car, house and international schooling were paid and I ended up in hospital for unrelated reasons and paid $0 on a >$500k bill.
F&G make up a lot of the compensation in stocks so total comp looks great. The benefits in Exxon (and Raytheon) were insane, car, house and international schooling were paid and I ended up in hospital for unrelated reasons and paid $0 on a >$500k bill.
If that is true, how much better would the salary and perks be for working for a systematically racist corporation?
It's difficult getting employment in China as non-Han so I'm not sure.
I think Facebook and Palantir have to increase compensation to get the same level of talent. The person you replied to formulated it in the inverse way.
Also yes, in general if you work in a nonprofit for a charitable cause you'll likely make way less money. Google et al are certainly not nonprofits, but they aren't in the "evil" businesses of defense/mass population manipulation either, at least not to the degree that Facebook and Palantir are. They are somewhere in between.
Also yes, in general if you work in a nonprofit for a charitable cause you'll likely make way less money. Google et al are certainly not nonprofits, but they aren't in the "evil" businesses of defense/mass population manipulation either, at least not to the degree that Facebook and Palantir are. They are somewhere in between.
Isn't this the free market in action? Pretty sure if this is unpopular it will just further degrade Yelp's already not very stellar reputation.
The free market stops working when a mob with pitchforks shows up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSnTTND0UcM
This is what people consider a reasonable way to show you're not racist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSnTTND0UcM
This is what people consider a reasonable way to show you're not racist.
How is this different in intent, effect or result to the Green Book[1]?
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book
Im assuming you are asking an honest question so I'll try my best to answer.
The difference in intent, effect and or result is:
The Greenbook was created to provide information on businesses that were not racist, decent people that offered services to minorities. In essence it promoted certain buisnesses to people which helped them, what yelp is doing is placing alerts on buisnesses that you should not visit thus hurting them.
The Smithsonian has a digital copy of the book here: https://transcription.si.edu/project/7955
Hope that answered your question
The difference in intent, effect and or result is:
The Greenbook was created to provide information on businesses that were not racist, decent people that offered services to minorities. In essence it promoted certain buisnesses to people which helped them, what yelp is doing is placing alerts on buisnesses that you should not visit thus hurting them.
The Smithsonian has a digital copy of the book here: https://transcription.si.edu/project/7955
Hope that answered your question
* Edit *
After contemplating your question overnight, I believe that Yelp's "INTENT" may be nothing more than a kind of virtue signalling, in order to drive attention to their web site. I would imagine that during this time of restaurants and service business shutdowns, they are having a hard time too. So why not stir things up, with some race baiting, heck maybe Fox news will give them a mention!!
So yes it is quite a bit different than the Green Books' creators intent.
After contemplating your question overnight, I believe that Yelp's "INTENT" may be nothing more than a kind of virtue signalling, in order to drive attention to their web site. I would imagine that during this time of restaurants and service business shutdowns, they are having a hard time too. So why not stir things up, with some race baiting, heck maybe Fox news will give them a mention!!
So yes it is quite a bit different than the Green Books' creators intent.
People denying others service by skin color was the motivation for that.
This time it is to deflect from criticism against Yelp itself and maybe even increase their extortion efforts towards businesses.
This time it is to deflect from criticism against Yelp itself and maybe even increase their extortion efforts towards businesses.
Yelp continues to do what Yelp does best: extorting businesses.
I don't see this as good. This will result in disaster in this way:
- It will give violent protesters targets to go and harrass or attack
- It will be a beacon for actual racists to congregate
- Who's to stop a disgruntled reviewer from labelling a place as racist?
Just no.
- It will give violent protesters targets to go and harrass or attack
- It will be a beacon for actual racists to congregate
- Who's to stop a disgruntled reviewer from labelling a place as racist?
Just no.
Racism. What does that mean nowadays? The term used to have a very specific meaning but it seems to be used as a more general-purpose smear nowadays, often based on nothing more than a dislike of a person or institutions politics.
So now Yelp will add a label to businesses accused of this term. Don't buy from racists! In German that translates to Kauft nicht bei Rassisten!.
Here is to hoping this nonsense will end soon and will end well because this -ist/-ism mania has the potential to go down into history as the next incarnation of what drove the Salem Witch trials.
So now Yelp will add a label to businesses accused of this term. Don't buy from racists! In German that translates to Kauft nicht bei Rassisten!.
Here is to hoping this nonsense will end soon and will end well because this -ist/-ism mania has the potential to go down into history as the next incarnation of what drove the Salem Witch trials.
Misleading, editorialized title. The original title is:
> New Consumer Alert on Yelp Takes Firm Stance Against Racism
The important bit is the alert disables reviews, and posts this message:
> While we understand the desire to warn others about racist behavior associated with a business, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand customer experience. We have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content.
This is good for businesses who worry about being falsely accused.
> New Consumer Alert on Yelp Takes Firm Stance Against Racism
The important bit is the alert disables reviews, and posts this message:
> While we understand the desire to warn others about racist behavior associated with a business, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand customer experience. We have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content.
This is good for businesses who worry about being falsely accused.
Seems like a lot could go wrong here...
If it wasn’t Google that killed Yelp, the libel suits aren’t going to help.
That's what I was thinking. Also, why would you want to go through the trouble of trying to vet the accusations - it would be a nightmare.
There have been multiple incidents already where different clips or angles of video totally change the narrative.
There have been multiple incidents already where different clips or angles of video totally change the narrative.
[deleted]
this will be abused. How does one verify a business is indeed practice racism? How does the business owner rectify the allegations?
It seems that these things are done under the principle of "it's alright if we get a few false positives in the name of progress".
Will there be an appeal process? How do you clear your name after an accusation has been made? Who's to review the evidence?
Will there be an appeal process? How do you clear your name after an accusation has been made? Who's to review the evidence?
Benjamin Franklin helps
"Benjamin Franklin" as in $100 bills? Or something else?
This seems likely to backfire for Yelp. Focusing on positively noting businesses that are explicitly non- (or anti-) racist, akin to the Green Book[0], and letting users filter for that, as they are doing with their Open For All® effort, is more likely to produce positive change.
Racism-specific alerts are probably going to exacerbate the problem they call "media-driven" reviews and feedback, despite their mitigation efforts.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book
Racism-specific alerts are probably going to exacerbate the problem they call "media-driven" reviews and feedback, despite their mitigation efforts.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book
I wonder if this is coming up now because of the show _Lovecraft Country_ on Apple TV+ which seems to be (I’ve only just started it) about the authors of _The Negro Motorist Green Book_, a historical guide highlighting safe places to patronize on a road trip. I could even see Apple nudging Yelp to make this change. Good for them, if so.
[ Disclaimer, I work for one of these companies on things unrelated to this topic. ]
[ Disclaimer, I work for one of these companies on things unrelated to this topic. ]
Can we just admit that nobody uses Yelp anymore? They force you to make an account just to look at reviews and there's been numerous times where people have been caught brigading. I don't know a single person that relies on or even uses the site.
They don't (yet) make you make an account to see the actual content if you're viewing on desktop or in desktop mode on a phone.
Their mobile site though, file it alongside Reddit as one that's designed to have the appearance of something functional while really just being a funnel to the app. Yelp's worse about it, in fact.
Their mobile site though, file it alongside Reddit as one that's designed to have the appearance of something functional while really just being a funnel to the app. Yelp's worse about it, in fact.
I think Yelp is trying to do the right thing with this but can't help but feel this might be crossing a line.
Yelp has always seemed to me, to be a sort of protection racket for businesses' reputations. Now they are going to flag certain business as possible racists during a time of social unrest? How long will it take before one of these places gets targeted and burned down after a "Peaceful Protest" due to the Yelp warning? In civil law it is a balance of probabilities so wether or not it can be proven 100% that the flag made them a target, Yelp may still be found partially liable in court.
Yelp has always seemed to me, to be a sort of protection racket for businesses' reputations. Now they are going to flag certain business as possible racists during a time of social unrest? How long will it take before one of these places gets targeted and burned down after a "Peaceful Protest" due to the Yelp warning? In civil law it is a balance of probabilities so wether or not it can be proven 100% that the flag made them a target, Yelp may still be found partially liable in court.
On a related note, someone flagged my comments here. I don't know who. I don't know how to respond. Take that for what you will.
Is Yelp on Yelp? I have something to report.
How the hell is this not libel? Yelp is just inviting lawsuits by doing that. It's one thing to host other peoples libel. But when you're the entity dishing it out, you're basically saying either one of two things:
"Were only trying to shut down small businesses because of one person"
Or
"Were so big that we can't fail therefore you must kowtow"
"Were only trying to shut down small businesses because of one person"
Or
"Were so big that we can't fail therefore you must kowtow"
https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-yelp-phoneix-insiders...
Someone at yelp should get on this
Someone at yelp should get on this
10 comments and I'm quite sure none read the article.
This is for when a racist incident makes large national / international news and people (who don't frequent the business) flood the page with negative reviews.
This is for when a racist incident makes large national / international news and people (who don't frequent the business) flood the page with negative reviews.
Yeah this is a PR disaster. The choice of title and language used by Yelp is really poor.
Why didn't they just say: "We're going to lock reviews for x days when a business receives news or social media attention to prevent reviews from non-customers."
Twitter is full of people saying they've deleted the app, etc.
Why didn't they just say: "We're going to lock reviews for x days when a business receives news or social media attention to prevent reviews from non-customers."
Twitter is full of people saying they've deleted the app, etc.
The page made it sound like that's a thing they already do. The new thing seems to be
> Now, when a business gains public attention for reports of racist conduct, such as using racist language or symbols, Yelp will place a new Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert on their Yelp page to inform users, along with a link to a news article where they can learn more about the incident.
While this is not quite as abusable as other commenters have claimed, there is definitely still some potential for abuse given how imperfect journalism (like all things) is at always reporting facts.
> Now, when a business gains public attention for reports of racist conduct, such as using racist language or symbols, Yelp will place a new Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert on their Yelp page to inform users, along with a link to a news article where they can learn more about the incident.
While this is not quite as abusable as other commenters have claimed, there is definitely still some potential for abuse given how imperfect journalism (like all things) is at always reporting facts.
This is my reading. By including a link to an outside article, they think they can lock things up to prevent a flamewar / flood of non-firsthand reviews. This seems like it will make everyone mad.
I'd actually believe Yelp gave a crud about racism if they included the tribally owned businesses on the reservation I work at. It would also be nice if they set up programs for other minorities.
obviously just a "socially acceptable" way to punish small businesses even more if they don't fall in line
what happened to not editorializing articles?
They are opening themselves up for lots of defamation cases.
tl;dr: If you are a customer and encounter racism, then Yelp will mark the business with "Racist Behavior Alert". This alert will notify customers of the accusation while simultaneously blocking those who are not customers from leaving bad reviews, based on the viral media reports.
I don't have much to say except that Yelp shouldn't exist. Local reviews have become nationalized or even globalized. I wish the stakes could be lowered.
I don't have much to say except that Yelp shouldn't exist. Local reviews have become nationalized or even globalized. I wish the stakes could be lowered.
Will it be a big red letter 'R' ?
I propose they go one step further and start issuing R badges that owners of racist establishments have to display on their person at all times. /s
This is horrible!
mitchtbaum(1)
“accused”
Another step towards a terrifying social dystopia.
I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!
In a perfect world this is a noble endeavor, but we don’t live in a perfect world and this could just as easily be leveraged by trolls and/or competing businesses.