Qype kills thousands of fake reviews

Qype, Europe's leading consumer reviews site, has cut thousands of misleading or malicious reviews from its 13.5 million online listings.

Taking a tough stance on third parties who abuse online reviews, Qype has taken down over two thousand fake reviews in the last month. Around three per cent of new reviews have been deleted since the site declared war on unethical listings last year.

With a new review appearing every 30 seconds on everything from hostels and tourist attractions to hairdressers and minicab companies, Qype has implemented a continuous campaign to keep its listings clean.

Unlike some other reviews sites, Qype does not rely solely on an obscure algorithm to weed out fake reviews. As well as using up-to-date technology to flag suspicious items, Qype's team of skilled people evaluate the evidence to ensure the right reviews are deleted.

The site, whose hallmark is the integrity and independence of its reviews, is committed to stopping people who use its listings for financial gain, and aims to stamp out biased or unreliable reviews.

"Qype is the number one source for trusted reviews and we're working hard to ensure every single listing is independent and impartial," says Ian Brotherston, CEO of Qype.

"We have been proactively removing reviews from Qype and blocking persistent offenders from the site since our campaign started. We're constantly updating our procedures with the sole focus of guaranteeing the integrity of our reviews."

Qype features over 1.65 million reviews spanning 166,000 towns and cities worldwide and sees up to 25 million visits per month.

The site is one of the fastest-growing mobile experiences on the web, allowing consumers worldwide access to local reviews whilst on the go. Qype's app is free to download and available on all smartphones, making it easy to write reviews or comments on-the-go, upload pictures or check-in to a place.