Why does Tripadvisor Disable reviews?

Brands’ reaction to the war

It has been over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Everyone is concerned about the war and trying to make an effort to affect the crisis. Last week, I wrote an article about how marketers react to the war. By viewing big brands’ decisions on the action to take, we can understand what’s the markets’ thought. And now, let’s look at the power of social media.

The Anonymous

On February 28, an international group of hackers, Anonymous, told their 7.7 million followers, “Go to Google maps. Go to Russia. Find a restaurant or business and write a review.” Moreover, it even gave an example “The food was great! Unfortunately, Putin spoiled our appetites by invading Ukraine.”

This action aims to tell and warn Russia’s citizens about their country’s invasion of Ukraine since the reports in Russia’s state-run media seem to downplay the attack on Ukraine.

Therefore, Google reviews have received an influx of fake reviews due to the tweet a few days later.

How does Tripadvisor react?

So did Tripadvisor. With the increasing of fake reviews at Russia’s restaurants and businesses, TripAdvisor and Google both disable reviews in Russia and Ukraine’s attractions.

TripAdvisor temporarily suspended new reviews from activist postings and instead, shared updates on the invasion to its community forums.

My thoughts

In my opinion, Tripadvisor made the right decision in making their public relations. The first is that they know the importance of a review for a restaurant or business is. With the reputation, each restaurant built their good taste by making efforts to get good reviews. Therefore, it can’t just be spamming by the protest the Anonymous asked.

Second, I think it’s a good idea to make an action to the Russia and Ukraine war since it means the brand is following the news and trends. Also, customers can tell that Tripadvisor is trying to do its part to make influence the crisis.