Received a Negative Online Review? Practical Tips on Removing False and Defamatory Online Reviews

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:

1. 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%).
2. 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top three purchase influences. 
3. 62% of consumers globally would stop using platforms that they knew were censoring reviews.

Given the right of the individual to have their views heard and respected, combined with the fallibility of memory, and the importance of online reputation to a business, and online reviews have become a hotbed for disputes.

What to do when you receive a negative review.

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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 many instances, engagement with the platform is preferable.
2. Engage with the platform: All reputable review platforms have guidance, policies and terms of use in place to deal with false reviews (see, for example, Instagram and TikTok). A formal request can be made for the removal of the review if it violates the terms and conditions of use. Seeking removal of the review for breach(es) of the platform policies and terms of use is typically the most effective way to obtain removal.
3. Obtain legal advice: We can 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. Our recent experience includes advising on cases involving defamation, harassment and blackmail. Where the review forms part of an online campaign against you, we can begin court proceedings for an injunction and seek damages.
4. 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.

Joseph McCaughley is a Partner at Spencer West with experience advising prominent individuals and global businesses on removal of false and defamatory content.  

If you have questions about this article or would like advice on how to deal with a negative review or other online content, please contact Joseph at [email protected].

This article is for guidance only and isn’t intended to constitute formal legal advice.