Yelp To Flag Businesses Accused Of Racist Behavior

A Yelp spokesperson told Forbes that a team of human moderators will place a notice on a company’s Yelp page stating “Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert” if there’s “resounding evidence of egregious, racist actions from a business owner or employee, such as using overtly racist slurs or symbols.”

The alert will include a link to a credible news outlet where users can read about the accusations in detail.

Since Yelp doesn’t allow users to leave reviews based solely on media reports, the company hopes the alert system will help customers make “decisions about whether they’ll be welcome and safe at a particular business.”

There are still questions about moderation, including what counts as “resounding evidence” in a news story, what media outlets Yelp considers “credible” or exactly how long a notification will remain on a business’ page.

A Yelp spokesperson said alerts “can appear for days or several weeks” as it removes reviews that aren’t based on first-hand experience.