Recently, a McDonald’s worker reported to Google an act of manipulation that seemingly benefited the fast-food giant after informing the company about Luigi Mangione, an individual posting only positive reviews about the restaurant. This situation has sparked broader concerns about Google’s practices and its efforts to control and manipulate online reputation on its platforms.
In the realm of online reputation management, companies like McDonald’s often struggle with negative feedback that emerges on consumer review sites. In response to these challenges, Google and other search engines have introduced various methods to filter search results and rank listings based upon user engagement metrics and review validity.
The most well-known method is the E-A-T principle, which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. In theory, this strategy empowers genuine feedback and reviews and inhibits the spread of misinformation or intentionally biased content.
However, the debacle involving Luigi Mangione and the McDonald’s employee has brought attention to a known criticism: the possibility of google meddling with records people search for or removing disagreeable ones. Regardless, the corporation has maintained that it had become necessary to address queries about locations and services.
Growing tension between the tech industry and the general public over privacy and autonomy has added more fuel to this fire. This recent episode provides fresh evidence that major corporations have significant impact over the internet-based information people absorb and rely on.
Google’s response to the incident has been considered insufficient by many legal professionals, who claim that the company should take more extensive action to protect users from big corporations manipulating their reputation. With mounting awareness and scrutiny, it will be imperative for Google and other technology companies to address this issue and thoroughly evaluate their roles in economic fairness and public trust.
