5 ms·

Yup, and not new... In the tech space, that is what Yelp does (Pay $, suppress bad reviews). I'm sure there are other examples out there...

• mifreewil 10y ago
  I don't think this is true. This may have happened in the past, but I don't think they do this, at least currently. https://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq https://www.yelp.com/advertiser_faq
  • Flammy 10y ago
    It may no longer be happening. Googling "Yelp extortion" will get you plenty of news hits, but this may have caused them to change their practices.
    • Throwaway23412 10y ago
      It's actually extraordinary how many "Yelp extortion" claims I've seen without a single bit of proof. It's not at all difficult to record a telephone conversation with a Yelp representative. I've seen some thoughts about this: - Some of the businesses claiming "Yelp extortion" actually deserve their bad reviews. - Some of the businesses claiming "Yelp extortion" posted fake positive reviews. Unbeknownst to them, Yelp bots automatically detected and removed the fake reviews. Later, after rejecting a call from a Yelp rep asking to advertise, the business owner decides to check their Yelp page and sees that their fake reviews are gone, incorrectly deducing that Yelp is extorting them.
      • dhimes 10y ago
        It's not at all difficult to record a telephone conversation with a Yelp representative. I was at Radio Shack just yesterday looking for a way to do this. They didn't have a solution. Also, it's illegal where I am unless I advertise it. So if I were to get a call right now from somebody and needed to record it I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions?
        • Throwaway23412 10y ago
          I personally use an app called TapeACall. You could also just put your call on loudspeaker and record it with another device.
    • eli 10y ago
      Google "chemtrails" you get lots of hits too.