by Naomi Bang ‘23

There’s no question that racism has become a prevalent topic in the United States. But Yelp’s new “Business Accused of Racist Behavior Alert” will not help aid this problem. The online review company announced on October 8 that following numerous complaints and further investigation, they will place a consumer alert on businesses marked to be “associated with overtly racist actions.” 

The main reason this consumer alert could be problematic is that Yelp is labeling the problem and leaving. The next step must involve interaction with the offender or else they will continue in their racist actions. A label alone won’t protect against racial controversy; rather, it will further polarize the competing positions. Social media has gained the reputation of being a platform where people express their opinions and Yelp is just opening another door to feed the fire of conflict. Customer reviews play a large part in creating the environment of a business and this is an opportunity for customers to abuse their influence. Additionally, it’s almost impossible to have an unbiased system, even if Yelp’s intentions seem to be on the right track. Who is defining racist actions? It’s almost as if Yelp is handing out medicine that has been tested with severe side effects. Racism can’t be fixed by labeling a business; Yelp is not getting to the root of the problem.