In 2024, Tripadvisor reported that about 8% of the 31.1 million reviews submitted on its platform were fake. This translates to roughly 2.5 million fraudulent reviews, highlighting a significant challenge for the company in maintaining the credibility of its vast review database. The issue of fake reviews is not new, but the scale revealed in this report is noteworthy.
The company uses a layered moderation process that combines automated tools, human oversight, and community flagging to combat this problem. According to data, 87.8% of reviews passed initial automated checks, while 7.3% were blocked by technology, and 4.9% were flagged for further investigation. Reuters noted that different types of fake reviews include 'review boosting' from businesses, member fraud, vandalism, and paid reviews.
To address these reviews, Tripadvisor has been proactive. The company removed 214,000 AI-generated reviews in 2024 to counteract misleading content. Approximately 9,000 businesses received warnings for engaging in unethical practices like incentivized reviews, reinforcing Tripadvisor's commitment to ensuring that users access genuine and reliable insights.