Anti-Asian hate ‘runs the gamut,’ racist Yelp reviews show
By DAVID KLEPPER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s been a sharp increase in the number of hate-filled business reviews spotted by Yelp’s content moderators. The San Francisco-based company says it proactively removed more than 2,000 such posts last year, up from less than 250 the year before. While some of the content targeted Black, Latino and LGBTQ people, Asian American business owners experienced the worst increase, reflecting the lingering stigma of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increases are a function of Yelp’s improved efforts to remove racist content and show how even a site known for reviews of restaurants and repairmen can become ensnared in America’s ongoing battle over online civility.