Google Maps is detecting business pages that post fake reviews and highlighting this activity to its users. Google is now… Imposing restrictions against commercial profiles that violate the search giant's fake engagement policy, such as temporarily removing reviews, blocking new reviews or ratings, and displaying a warning message on profiles that have had fake reviews removed.
from google Prohibited and restricted content policy Google Maps says contributions to Maps “should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business.” Business Pages cannot display content that does not “accurately represent the location or product in question” or that has been incentivized through payments, discounts, or gifts to reviewers. Google Maps will also look for reviews that attempt to manipulate ratings by posting from multiple accounts or that use emulators, modified operating systems, or other methods that “mimic a genuine interaction.”
It’s unclear how Google will precisely determine which reviews violate these rules, but the threat of being publicly shamed may be enough to deter some businesses from trying to artificially inflate their ratings. The warning message may also help users avoid visiting places Google deems untrustworthy, rather than having suspicious reviews simply disappear without explanation.
