Major online firms, including Booking.com, Expedia, and Tripadvisor, have united to fight fake reviews, reports BBC News (Oct. 10, Vallance). The group will share information on deterring fraudsters. Its formation comes as the increasing power of artificial intelligence (AI) raises the prospect of an arms race with the fake review fraudsters. Some members of the new group, which calls itself the Coalition for Trusted Reviews, are already using AI to help detect fake reviews, but AI could also make it cheaper, and quicker to write large numbers of convincing bogus reviews. Travel booking site Tripadvisor identified 1.3 million fake reviews on its platform in 2022. Becky Foley, a vice president for the platform, said fake review writers "often operate outside of jurisdictions with a legal framework to shut down fraudulent activity, making robust cooperation even more important."
BBC News (10/19/23) Chris Vallance