Google Maps will now warn you about businesses with fake reviews

Many people use Google Maps to find out more information about local businesses, and a key feature of this is the Google Maps rating system. Now, Google appears to be taking steps to make its reviews more trustworthy, and warn users if it’s detected and removed fake reviews from its platform.

The change was spotted by Mike Blumenthal on X (formerly Twitter), who posted a screenshot of a local business entry in Google Maps that came with a warning that read: “Suspected fake reviews were recently removed from this place.” This particular company is based in the UK, and it’s not known where else these warnings can be seen.

According to Google’s Business Profile policy, a company that violates Google’s rules on fake engagement (including by posting or receiving fake reviews) can be restricted in a few different ways:

• The business “will not be able to ...