Yelp saw a massive spike in bad reviews from people angry about COVID restrictions
Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
- Yelp saw a 161% spike in negative COVID-related restaurant reviews from users in 2021.
- The restaurant review website said it removed over 15,000 user reviews related to COVID restrictions.
- Yelp introduced a COVID-based moderation policy in March 2020, and has had to step up efforts since.
As Americans return to restaurant dining, they're running into vaccine requirements, mask mandates, and other COVID-related safety measures. And some people are downright furious with those safety measures.
Look no further than restaurant review site Yelp, which saw a massive spike of negative user reviews citing these measures.
Yelp said it had a 161% year-over-year increase in negative COVID-related user reviews, according to its 2021 Trust and Safety Report released Wednesday. More than 15,500 reviews were removed for violating Yelp's COVID policies, the report said.
Starting in March 2020, Yelp began monitoring user reviews for COVID-specific subjects.
User reviews that claim a business is responsible for spreading COVID, for instance, are subject to removal, as are reviews with "criticism of the safety measures a business is taking (for example, requiring that customers wear masks)." The same goes for reviews expressing frustration that a business enforces government-mandated vaccine requirements for indoor dining, or is closed during pre-COVID open hours.
The idea, Yelp said, is to "better protect businesses from reputational harm due to pandemic-related circumstances beyond their control."
Stories of retail customers getting into confrontations with retail workers over COVID-related safety guidelines, such as masking and vaccine requirements, have become increasingly common as the pandemic continues.
In airlines and restaurants and supermarkets, Americans have repeatedly bristled at pandemic safety measures.
Between hostile customers and meager wages, millions of American workers have quit their jobs in what is now called "The Great Resignation."
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