Beware, online reviews can be fake! Tripadvisor managed to escape fine in Italy over fake reviews

Tripadvisor, the American travel website company, will think twice before posting any review. An Italian court overturned a 500,000-euro ($550,000) fine slapped on the company as it failed to warn users that some views posted on the popular hotel and restaurant review website may be fake.

"TripAdvisor never asserted that all the opinions were real, even mentioning that verification was impossible and to consider the trend rather than each comment one by one," AFP reported, quoting the administrative court ruling.

Italy's competition watchdog slapped the fine on the local subsidiary of the popular travel website in December, saying the company's advertising had emphasised "the authentic and genuine nature of the reviews, persuading consumers to believe the information is always reliable and reflects real tourist experiences."

Italy's hotel and restaurant trade association, Federalberghi, expressed its disappointment over the ruling. It said there are gaps in the country's legislation which allowed the company to avoid correcting its practices.

(Image: Reuters)