A recent study by a Rutgers researcher challenges the common perception of "review bombing" and its impact on businesses. Will B. Payne, an assistant professor at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, conducted the study published in Big Data & Society. He argues that strict moderation policies on platforms like Yelp may limit reasonable opinions that consumers rely on.
Payne stated, “Simply put, everything you think you know about review bombing is wrong.” His research highlights how online reviews can significantly affect independent business revenue, particularly through Yelp, where a one-star increase can boost nonchain restaurant revenue by 5% to 9%.
To explore this phenomenon, Payne examined Yelp's moderation practices concerning businesses involved in political controversies from 2004 to 2021. He created a database using news sources to identify specific cases and compiled tens of thousands of politically themed reviews related to events such as the U.S. elections and movements like Black Lives Matter.
The study focused on two businesses: Comet Ping Pong in Washington D.C., associated with the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, and Pi Pizzeria in St. Louis, whose owner faced backlash for supporting Black Lives Matter. Payne discovered differing patterns of review bombing for each case. Comet Ping Pong received mostly negative comments from distant reviewers, while Pi Pizzeria experienced local support mixed with criticism.
Yelp's filtering systems removed numerous reviews for both businesses but had varying effects. For Comet Ping Pong, most removed reviews were negative; however, for Pi Pizzeria, supportive reviews were often flagged and removed despite being legitimate expressions of community support.
“Local customers were censored for simply thanking Chris Sommers for standing with them as they marched against police violence,” said Payne regarding Pi Pizzeria’s situation.
In contrast to Yelp's approach, Google rarely removes politically themed reviews but still hosts references to false conspiracies like Pizzagate in public Google reviews.
Payne noted limitations in his data due to potential inaccuracies in self-reported user locations on Yelp and differences in transparency between Google Maps and Yelp regarding review removal.
As review bombing incidents continue to challenge platform policies—such as a recent event involving a McDonald's franchise linked to Donald Trump—Payne questions whether content moderation has overreached its bounds.
“Having a one-size-fits-all... policy can lead to the suppression of legitimate expressions of support,” Payne remarked. He emphasized that users should have the choice regarding political positions influencing consumer behavior on platforms like Yelp.
