Last weekend, the US Republican candidate wore an apron from the fast food company and served fries to some customers. In a few hours, an avalanche of negative comments appeared on the Yelp application, an application that encourages its users to leave reviews on restaurants, bars and other businesses.
Yelp temporarily disabled the comment writing function on a head office McDonald’s of Pennsylvania, United States, that the former president Donald Trump visited last Sunday.
The platform, which allows you to search for businesses in different cities and encourages its users to generate reviews and ratings on these services, was forced to make this decision after receiving an avalanche of negative comments due to the presence of the Republican candidate .
How Trump’s McDonald’s Visit Was That Sparked Criticism on Yelp
The Yelp controversy dates back to last Sunday, October 20. when the former President of the United States appeared as a McDonald’s employee in Feasterville, Pennsylvania . It is one of the most decisive states in the upcoming presidential elections in this country.
Trump, who has repeatedly confessed his love for fast food, wore an apron with gold stripes to protect his white shirt and red tie, in the colors of the famous fast food chain. After learning how to make French fries, the former president began frying them, salting them and storing them in their packages.
He also distributed orders and spoke to journalists.
McDonald’s tried to distance itself from the controversy by saying it did not invite Trump to its premises. while adding that it is proof that the brand has had a profound impact on the lives of Americans. Because the fast food giant operates under a franchise system, many of its locations are run by other companies.
Trump’s actions raised questions from the start, even among workers at other sites, according to the report. The New York Times . One of the actions of the Republican candidate that caused unease was that he violated the health code by not using protective elements when cooking or delivering products.
Donald Trump review on Yelp
Since Sunday, the scene featuring Trump has sparked a wave of criticism and negative evaluations in the restaurant.
The problem is that the reviews were not based on the service provided or the food, as Yelp requires. Rather, it was criticism and mockery directed at Trump for his intentions to reach the White House, his legal problems or his behavior.
“The fries were too salty, like someone who lost an important election cried over them for an hour.” one of the comments said, according to US media.
“Customer service was a joke. A senile old man put sunscreen on my fries, he didn’t use gloves. “He said the same thing several times, something about Ronald McDonald in the showers at the golf club,” noted another.
Some comments were also dedicated to praising Trump. “Best McDonalds I’ve been to in 47 years. The most senior employee was very friendly. Make McDonalds Great Again! Bring back the dollar menu! “wrote one user.
Others, meanwhile, defended the fast food restaurant despite the controversial event. “I went to this McDonald’s long before Trump arrived and I will return long after” noted one review.
about 145 reviews were posted on Yelp’s Feasterville McDonald’s page before the app chooses to disable any new comments. Now when you visit the page, a notice will appear saying “Unusual Activity Alert”.
“Recently, this company has received increased public attention, which usually means people are visiting this page to post their opinions on current events,” the description reads.
Why did Yelp disable reviews for Pennsylvania McDonald’s
From Yelp they indicate that, although they do not take a “position” on the controversy, they have chosen to close the possibility of publishing new content on the McDonalds page. to analyze “whether the content you see here reflects real consumer experiences rather than recent events” .
“For Yelp to remain a useful resource for the community, reviews must be based on authentic, first-hand experience of the business. » explained Noorie Malik, vice president of user operations at Yelp, reported CNBC .
In this sense, when they notice that a page’s activity decreases or increases in an unusual way, its moderators work so that only legitimate interactions with a service appear, Malik added.
It’s not uncommon for Yelp to receive negative or fake reviews from businesses that, for one reason or another, have been in the media spotlight. According to the Yelp Trust and Safety 2023 report,The application must have created more than 900 alerts on the pages of the companies in the spotlight forcing them to remove over 50,000 reviews.
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
