Review Bombing

Google Maps Silences Gulf of Mexico Rename Criticism

Following criticism over its renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for US users, Google Maps has temporarily disabled user reviews for the location. This action, defended by Google as a measure to prevent irrelevant or abusive content, comes amidst accusations of censorship due to the removal of negative reviews. The company cites a previous blog post detailing its policies on combating fake reviews and managing user-generated content. This incident highlights the increasing use of “review-bombing” as a form of online protest.

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