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by mikeash 3833 days ago
Why would any of it show up in the code? As I recall, what Yelp is accused of is making fake bad reviews that go away if you give them money. That could easily be a manual process done by sales people.
1 comments

The sales people don't have access to the content moderation systems. As far as it showing up in code, I was just making the point that there is no file containing something like

  if business_has_paid_extortion_money:
    show_good_reviews()
  else:
    show_bad_reviews()
... which is how people seem to think it works.

There is also no code to allow manual review ordering. They are sorted according by an algorithm with a variety of inputs including who you are friends with, who has Elite status, etc.

I've never seen anyone say they think it's automated. As for sales people not having access, who does, and how do you know they don't abuse it?