Yelp Makes Itself the Authority on Businesses 'Accused of Racist Behavior'
Yelp is now allowing consumers to label businesses as racist.
On Thursday, the company announced the new program it is rolling out that flags any business “accused of racist behavior.”
Whenever a business “gains attention for reports of racist conduct,” Yelp will now tag them with a label that says “Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert” on the business’ Yelp page.
“Today, we’re announcing a new consumer alert to stand against racism. In the last few months, we’ve seen that there is a clear need to warn consumers about businesses associated with egregious, racially-charged actions to help people make more informed spending decisions,” Yelp announced on its official Twitter account.
Today, we’re announcing a new consumer alert to stand against racism. In the last few months, we’ve seen that there is a clear need to warn consumers about businesses associated with egregious, racially-charged actions to help people make more informed spending decisions.
— Yelp (@Yelp) October 8, 2020
“Communities have always turned to Yelp in reaction to current events, and our User Operations team already places alerts on business pages when we notice an unusual uptick in reviews that are based on what someone may have seen in the news, rather than on a first-hand experience.”
Communities have always turned to Yelp in reaction to current events, and our User Operations team already places alerts on business pages when we notice an unusual uptick in reviews that are based on what someone may have seen in the news, rather than on a first-hand experience.
— Yelp (@Yelp) October 8, 2020
“Now, when a business gains attention for reports of racist conduct, Yelp will place a new Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert on their Yelp page to inform users, along with a link to a news article where they can learn more.”
Now, when a business gains attention for reports of racist conduct, Yelp will place a new Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert on their Yelp page to inform users, along with a link to a news article where they can learn more. https://t.co/1K2bJ46uM8
— Yelp (@Yelp) October 8, 2020
Yelp later posted a blog post expanding on the details of the new program:
“If someone associated with a business is accused of, or the target of, racist behavior, we will place a Public Attention Alert on the business page to warn consumers that the business may be receiving an influx of reviews as a result of increased attention.
“For businesses accused of overtly racist actions, where we can link to a news article, we will escalate our warning with the Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert.”
Read our full blog here: https://t.co/1K2bJ46uM8. pic.twitter.com/S04Bu9ehdE
— Yelp (@Yelp) October 9, 2020
Prominent conservatives and critics of the far left immediately began criticizing the rule as soon as Yelp announced the decision on Twitter.
This is the most insane idea I’ve ever heard and I hope you are sued into bankruptcy
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 9, 2020
I’d like to accuse Yelp of racist behavior https://t.co/VvwCMILR5T
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) October 9, 2020
They are out of their damn minds https://t.co/CWREwmtYmS
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 9, 2020
Given the current state of the left, virtually anything can be accused of racism.
In the last few months, the Quaker Oats Company was accused of promoting racist stereotypes with its Aunt Jemima brand, as was the Mars Incorporation’s Uncle Ben’s Rice brand. Trader Joe’s was also accused of racism for offering products with playful ethnic names such as “Trader José.”
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Even Starbucks was accused of racism back in 2018 for asking two black men who entered a Philadelphia location to leave when they asked to use the bathroom while refusing to buy anything — which was against the company’s policy at the time.
That’s only naming a few.
This horrendous policy from Yelp will inevitably lead to any business being labeled as racist for supporting conservatism, the police, the Republican Party, President Donald Trump or anything else that doesn’t fall in line with the religious dogma of the “anti-racist” left.
There are already examples of leftists hoping to use the program this way.
Journalist Andy Ngô pointed out that a protest group responsible for organizing protests in Portland, Oregon, was already compiling a list of businesses they deem to be racist, which include “any company that’s hanging blue lives garbage in their store or anything else that’s anti the BLM movement.”
With @Yelp announcing it is going to put notices on businesses accused of “racist behavior,” one #antifa group responsible for organizing the violent protests in Portland is now compiling a list. pic.twitter.com/EubfxcztuD
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) October 9, 2020
Small businesses depend upon Yelp to help promote themselves.
With this new policy, those businesses will be forced to bend the knee to the left in order to stay alive.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
