Google 1395 Charleston — Attraction in Mountain View

Google used to be the only place where you can find real reviews about companies. Reviews by end-users, intended to clearly warn the user for companies that serve bad food, have bad products, bad customer service, or even worse, companies that do immoral things or are corporate monsters. Google for years, for me as a reviewer, was the bright star in this landscape. I tried to be the knight that wrote reviews to help people. Take correct decisions, and especially, avoid being trapped. This has changed completely. Since a few years, about 90% of my reviews get protested by the companies (a typical phenomenon - you write a negative review about company X - two days later X files a complaint and AUTOMATICALLY your review is cancelled. You can file appeal - but you cannot provide any context, nor talk to a Google representative. In short, these worst of the worst companies can safely run their business, at their most immoral standards ever. Google just lets them. Why? Biensur, for the money. You, the user, don't pay Google. The advertizing company does. And in "the good old times" Google was swimming in money, and they were a solid rock. Nowadays, also Google is having more though times, so they protect the companies much more. I absolutely agree, you need to fight fake reviews. But. Not everything is fake. I once wrote a very negative hotel about an Italian hotel that was fake. People in my circle got affected. I did research on the case, found undeniable proof the beautiful photos on Google Maps were fake, and wrote a devastating but correct review. Google? Banned it. Twice. Had to keep re-posting and mentioning Google in my review (in a very negative way, and referring to their own proof - they had Maps data confirming the bad state of the hotel, from months before.. ) to finally get their attention and get it approved.. How come one cheating owner can actually resist negative reviews for so long? Many reviewers got affected. More recently, a top Belgian restaurant, sued a Youtuber for mentioning the restaurant name in one of his videos. The restaurant chef/owner was the father of one of the (+-22 year old) kids that killed a student in a sorority event. The specific person was not directly at the event, but the whole group communicated via Whatsapp on the day of the event, and this person was heavily influencing the actions that day. The Youtuber revealed that together with proof findings of several inhumane activities he did in his "career" at the sorority group. I didn't post a review of course then. It has nothing to do with the restaurant. But, then the restaurant sued back the Youtuber for slander. While the kid really did not even lie. The restaurant also didn't mention he lied. Just that he couldn't mention the restaurant. What's more, this restaurant owner and all involved in this case, were high end people. Directors, lawyers, even judges and judge personnel. The youngsters didn't get any jailtime record, causing a huge public disapproval on the case. This restaurant showed a very negative attitude. A person was killed, yet they felt incredibly offended by people mocking their restaurant. I wrote a correct review, explaining that if a restaurant is actively sueing a youtuber for spreading true info, the restaurant clearly does not have any moral standards, and i do not appreciate eating there, no matter how good the food is. I even updated the review to appreciate the food. The review only had to show the immorality of the owners, in a correct way. Again, Google banned it. Why? Stop it Google, stop it. Stop obstructing decent and correct reviewers. You should instead empower us. Let both companies and reviewers write a text explaining the case, and then let someone with moral standards and who is not bound to your profit margins, decide on the case. I can't contact anyone, i can't write any statement. I can just appeal and get it banned again. This needs to be stopped, or we all will quit Google and go to other...

Incongruent.

They control, or allow themselves to be controlled, the reputation of any establishment simply by allowing a person to write through false reviews, ruinously, whatever they see fit, and what is more worrying, they ignore the fact that they themselves harass tirelessly, under the protection of the remoteness and camouflage that is given to them by this tool called "review", invented by them but of which they ignore using the disclaimer: "Reviews are not verified."

They legitimize reviews created with fake email accounts, all with the same headline, with the same content and score for an establishment, seeking to do as much damage as possible to it, whether due to a real problem with the company or with one of your employees, because they were having a bad day, or simply because it is an easier way to attack the competition, even after having complained about it, due to their inability to identify them even in plain sight. Furthermore, they silence others that are totally legal, arbitrarily, leaving us people who care about the truth baffled.

Of course it is good that people can express their opinion, but the gratuitous, constant, and destructive lie that their tool facilitates is not valid.

As the adage of Damocles, or Stan Lee himself, indicates, "With great power comes great responsibility," and they are not responsible enough controlling the great power their reviews have.

I hope your algorithm finds this review appropriate.

A...

I think it's almost more disgusting that you block a review from a obviously either wrongly trained or flat out corrupt police department like pallo alto. In the last 24 hrs I've seen 2 documentaries on how they destroyed evidence and the more bizarre and absolutely shocking, disgusting, and outright unlawful way they treat citizens of this country with trickery and victim blaming with absolutely no accountability. In my eyes your just as shameful as the corrupt detectives and FBI agents involved. Shame on you and everyone who works for this conglomerate your absolutely disgusting. You preach freedom of speech yet you silence everyday citizens of the first amendment and its absolutely shocking to me. If they don't like bad reviews they should clean up their department and wake up. Hope none of you can sleep tonight because I bet Denise Huskins never has a good night sleep and as far as I'm concerned your just as complicit as the dirty cops and FBI in this...