Dr. Will Payne's recent article, "Review Bombing the Platformed City: Contested Political Speech in Online Local Reviews," delves into the impacts of review bombing on businesses embroiled in political controversies. The research focuses on how local review platforms like Yelp and Google Maps manage acceptable speech through automated and human judgment systems.
The phenomenon of "review bombing" involves a surge of reviews directed at controversial businesses. Using spatiotemporal analysis, Dr. Payne investigates the changing catchment areas of these reviews and measures what sociologist Richard Ocejo describes as the “extraterritoriality” of “taste communities.” The study centers on businesses in the United States affected by national and local political issues, including events such as the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections, the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two businesses are selected for detailed case studies: Washington, D.C.-based Comet Ping Pong and St. Louis-based Pi Pizzeria. Comet Ping Pong became infamous due to its association with the #Pizzagate conspiracy theory, while Pi Pizzeria was involved in debates about policing and the Black Lives Matter movement. According to Dr. Payne's findings, Comet Ping Pong experienced a broader spatial distribution of predominantly negative reviews following review bombing incidents. In contrast, Pi Pizzeria exhibited a more localized pattern with an almost equal division between supporters and critics.
The article also contrasts Yelp’s proactive content moderation approach with Google's more hands-off policy, examining the implications of this form of "algorithmic censorship" for small businesses, communities, and online discourse.
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