Practical Tips on Removing False and Defamatory Online Reviews
- Joseph McCaughley
- Apr 4, 2024
- 3 min read
It will come as no surprise that online reviews are crucial to customers when reaching a decision on buying a product or engaging a service. A 2020 Trustpilot survey found that:
89% of global consumers check online reviews as part of their online buying journey. (more recent reviews suggest this is closer to between 95% and 99%).
49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top three purchase influences.?
62% of consumers globally would stop using platforms that they knew were censoring reviews.
In addition, recent research in psychology all points one way in questioning the reliability of human memory. Think, for example, a waiter and customer in a restaurant – they may, with both operating in good faith – remember an encounter in entirely different ways.
Given the right of the individual to have their views heard and respected, combined with the fallibility of memory and the importance of positive online reviews to a business, and online reviews have become a hotbed for disputes.
What to do when you receive a negative review.
Assess the review: It is trite to say that you should consider the review, but it is important to analyse the review closely and dispassionately to seek to understand the true factual position. Retain important documents. If individuals are involved, record their recollection as close to the event as possible, should legal action later be required.
Determine the review’s status: if the review appears to be fair and reasonable and the customer’s honest opinion, it is unlikely to be defamatory. In such circumstances, an acknowledgement post is likely to go a long way in easing that customer’s discontent, and to signal to other customers that the business is prepared to acknowledge and seek to learn from its mistakes. Any attempts to remove such a review are unlikely to be successful and may in fact lead to greater reputational damage than the review itself (known as the Streisand Effect).
What can be done to counter false and defamatory reviews?
If the review is false or malicious it could be defamatory.
What then can and should be done depends on the nature of the review and the factual circumstances.
Engage with the reviewer: In some cases, a direct approach to the reviewer to seek a resolution may work. This is fact sensitive and depends on the nature of the dispute. In some situations, such as where the reviewer is using the negative review to seek a discount and blackmail the individual or business, this could be counterproductive and should be avoided.
Obtain legal advice: We are happy to advise you on your best course of action at any stage. We can engage with the platform and/or reviewer on your behalf and advise you on your legal remedies, including a possible claim in defamation.
Work on positive engagement: A negative review in itself shouldn’t cause too many problems, unless it is false and defamatory, in which case it should be robustly challenged. If anything, a lack of any negative reviews could be viewed suspiciously – it is unlikely that any individual or company provides a 100% positive experience each time! Work on encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews.
If you have questions about negative reviews or would like advice on how to deal with a negative review, please contact Joseph McCaughley.
This article is for guidance only and isn’t intended to constitute formal legal advice.
