Contributors who wrote up reviews on TripAdviser for hotels and restaurants they never actually visited or had any contact with could be exposed by a reputation management company.
Kwikchex says that next month it will publish a list of reviewers it suspects are actually posting fraudulent content. The company is acting on behalf of the site.
“People who leave these anonymous reviews, which can damage the reputation of both businesses and individuals, need to realise that not only can they be sued for libel but they can also face criminal prosecution,” Chris Emmins of Kwikchex told Fairfax.
After the list is published, the particular establishments will be requested to contact those reviewers. The company is threatening legal action if reviewers do not remove their posts within two weeks, or fail to show they actually had contact with the establishments.
“This will commence with a court application for disclosure of all information held by the website publisher regarding the identity of the poster, in order for the business to be able to repair the damage done to its reputation,” Emmins said.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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