Trustpilot announced a number of new initiatives as part of a commitment from Founder and CEO, Peter Muhlmann to fight for and maintain trust in the online reviews space. The introduction of seven new initiatives form part of a ‘Trust promise’ in Muhlmann’s open letter.

“Trust across our societies and in a number of institutions is broken. The Internet is a platform for progress, unlocking incredible collaboration and positive change, yet it has also become a tool for dividing us and destroying trust, too. Rediscovering lost trust in all its guises is a defining issue of our times,” said Peter Muhlmann, Founder and CEO Trustpilot.

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Muhlmann continued, “Consumer reviews could become the next victim of the same benign forces of distrust that have plagued other parts of the Internet: specifically, the suppression of authentic consumer voice through censorship, manipulation and fakes. At Trustpilot, we must and will do more to protect the value of openness and transparency in reviews, as a fundamental part of our open internet.”

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Seven new initiatives are highlighted as part of Muhlmann’s Trust promise:

‘Flagged’ reviews will remain online

Any company or consumer can flag a review they believe to be fake or which breaks Trustpilot’s rules. Going forward those reviews will remain online while investigated, with the exception of illegal content.

Companies that breach the guidelines will no longer have reviews shared with search engines

Trustpilot stars will no longer appear in search engine results for companies who have had a consumer alert put on their page

Pioneering a new ‘fraud fingerprint’ system

Enhancing Trustpilot’s ability to detect and remove fake reviews with new technology that helps to pinpoint the source of fake reviews and reviewers.

Strengthen the ‘consumer alert’ system

When a company is caught trying to game the system, consumers will know, via a clearer and faster system of public alerts.

Increased resource in Content Integrity and Data Science teams

Trustpilot uses advanced technology built by skilled data scientists to weed out fakes and abuse, supplemented with highly trained content integrity agents and fraud investigators. Investment and people will double in these areas.

Even greater transparency on company pages

On top of the extensive data already shared, Trustpilot is adding new data that will help consumers to see exactly how every company uses the platform.

No longer allow review incentives

Despite most companies using incentives in the right way to get more feedback, there’s growing concern that any incentive could sway feedback in a more positive direction. Incentives of any kind, such as future discounts, loyalty points, gifts or payment in exchange for a review will no longer be allowed on Trustpilot.

These new initiatives form part of Trustpilot’s wider ambition to be the most trusted and transparent reviews platform globally and are due to be implemented by Christmas 2020. They follow on from other changes already implemented this year, including new guidelines and updated reporting reasons to additional transparency around review invites and sources.

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