The Real Reason Google’s Restaurant Reviews Are Being Hacked
By Hope Ngo/March 5, 2022 3:10 am EST
By now, most people around the world would have heard about the hostilities initiated by Russia and now taking place in Ukraine, but what is not as immediately obvious is whether the Russian people themselves know how bad things are, especially since the flow of information has been severely curtailed. As Nobel Prize winner Dmitri A Muratov put it, “Everything that’s not propaganda is being eliminated,” per The New York Times. But for a while, it seemed as though creative techies had found a way to get around Russia’s tightening noose by calling on people to leave Google reviews for random restaurants and businesses.
A Twitter account allegedly owned by the hacker collective “Anonymous” sent out the suggestion, saying “Go to Google Maps. Go to Russia. Find a restaurant or business and write a review. When you write the review explain what is happening in Ukraine,” and credited the idea to a Polish social media user. They even, rather helpfully, provided sample text, which translated into: “The food was great! Unfortunately, Putin spoiled our appetites by invading Ukraine. Stand up to your dictator, stop killing innocent people! Your government is lying to you. Get up!” And for a while, the idea seemed to work. One of the restaurants that CNET reports got targeted by the fake reviews was Moscow’s Grand Cafe Dr. Jhivago, which not only saw reviews but photos of the various atrocities committed by the Russian army as it tried to take over Ukraine.
The Real Reason Google’s Restaurant Reviews Are Being Hacked
By Hope Ngo/March 5, 2022 3:10 am EST
By now, most people around the world would have heard about the hostilities initiated by Russia and now taking place in Ukraine, but what is not as immediately obvious is whether the Russian people themselves know how bad things are, especially since the flow of information has been severely curtailed. As Nobel Prize winner Dmitri A Muratov put it, “Everything that’s not propaganda is being eliminated,” per The New York Times. But for a while, it seemed as though creative techies had found a way to get around Russia’s tightening noose by calling on people to leave Google reviews for random restaurants and businesses.
A Twitter account allegedly owned by the hacker collective “Anonymous” sent out the suggestion, saying “Go to Google Maps. Go to Russia. Find a restaurant or business and write a review. When you write the review explain what is happening in Ukraine,” and credited the idea to a Polish social media user. They even, rather helpfully, provided sample text, which translated into: “The food was great! Unfortunately, Putin spoiled our appetites by invading Ukraine. Stand up to your dictator, stop killing innocent people! Your government is lying to you. Get up!” And for a while, the idea seemed to work. One of the restaurants that CNET reports got targeted by the fake reviews was Moscow’s Grand Cafe Dr. Jhivago, which not only saw reviews but photos of the various atrocities committed by the Russian army as it tried to take over Ukraine.
A Twitter account allegedly owned by the hacker collective “Anonymous” sent out the suggestion, saying “Go to Google Maps. Go to Russia. Find a restaurant or business and write a review. When you write the review explain what is happening in Ukraine,” and credited the idea to a Polish social media user. They even, rather helpfully, provided sample text, which translated into: “The food was great! Unfortunately, Putin spoiled our appetites by invading Ukraine. Stand up to your dictator, stop killing innocent people! Your government is lying to you. Get up!”
And for a while, the idea seemed to work. One of the restaurants that CNET reports got targeted by the fake reviews was Moscow’s Grand Cafe Dr. Jhivago, which not only saw reviews but photos of the various atrocities committed by the Russian army as it tried to take over Ukraine.
Cagkan Sayin/Shutterstock
