Reviews have recently appeared in Google Maps, which have begun to appear under business tags. User reaction to this innovation was mixed. Some believe that this further clutters up an already overloaded service with unnecessary information, while others doubt whether such reviews can be trusted. On this occasion, Google published a detailed post, which details how reviews are moderated before they are published in Google Maps.
Google has developed strict review content policies to ensure that reviews are based on real-life experiences and that inappropriate and offensive comments are kept out of business accounts. Over time, the company’s policy changed (as did the safeguards) to eventually become a manual for moderators and machine learning algorithms. As soon as someone leaves a review on the maps, it is automatically sent to the moderation system, which prevents the publication of inappropriate content. Google is investing heavily in this system, because it requires not only the capabilities that machines provide, but also a subtle understanding of the human moderator.
Algorithms are the first line of defense. They are good at recognizing certain patterns that help determine if content is legal. As such, most reviews are removed before moderators and users see them. Algorithms examine reviews for offensive or off-topic content, check the author’s account, their suspicious activity (for example, posting a large number of reviews in a short period of time), similar posts on social networks, and so on.
As smart as machines are, they don’t always understand the difference between acceptable and infringing content. The moderators of the service regularly conduct tests and undergo additional training to eliminate the bias of machine learning models. This reduces the chance of inadvertently blocking reviews. If the moderation system finds no violations, the review can be published within a few seconds. However, even after that, the system continues to analyze the content and monitor suspicious schemes for adding reviews.
Ordinary Google Maps users can also participate in review moderation. They have the ability to flag violations, after which the company reviews the request and takes the necessary action – deletes the message, blocks the account (if necessary), and can even initiate a lawsuit. In addition, Google also tries to anticipate the possibility of fake reviews related to upcoming events. Special attention is paid to places that people will massively search for on the map.
Source: Trash Box
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