An automotive blogger with nearly 14 million followers across platforms has publicly accused Amap, Meituan, and Dianping of hosting malicious fake reviews for his new barbecue restaurant, even though the store had not yet officially opened.
Han Lu, who was preparing to launch his skewer restaurant called "Quye Chuan," revealed that multiple negative reviews claiming customers had dined at the establishment appeared on all three platforms before the store had served a single customer. The reviews included specific details about food quality, service, and waiting times, with one commenting that the skewers were served undercooked and the service was terrible.
As of press time, all the negative reviews in question have been removed from the relevant platforms.
In response to the situation, Amap, operated by Alibaba (BABA), told reporters that users and businesses can submit complaints about suspected fake or malicious reviews through the platform, and that the platform will review them in accordance with laws and community rules, applying measures such as downranking or deletion. The company stated it will continue improving its review mechanisms to provide more valuable references for users. Meituan (MEITUAN-W, MEITUAN) and Dianping did not provide a clear response, with customer service suggesting that negative reviews before opening could result from store information being mistakenly linked.
The incident unfolds
The controversy began on October 2 when Han Lu posted on Weibo that his new barbecue restaurant "Quye Chuan" was scheduled to begin trial operations at 5 PM that day, yet multiple negative reviews had already appeared on Amap, Meituan, and Dianping before that time.
Han Lu expressed frustration that the real economy is already difficult to manage, and platforms have lowered the threshold for posting reviews to the point where anyone can fabricate reviews to smear businesses without any verification mechanism or requirement to provide evidence of actually dining there. He noted that the cost of creating fake negative reviews is essentially zero, which is deeply unfair to merchants. He added that he has not even formally entered the restaurant industry yet but has already experienced the malicious operations and unfriendly platform rules, expressing sympathy for those who have been in the business for years.
Screenshots he shared showed multiple anonymous users giving the lowest possible rating of 0.5 points, with detailed negative comments and even accompanying photos. One user claimed the skewers were served undercooked and the service was awful, while another discouraged potential customers by saying the food tasted bad, prices were high, and staff service was poor.
After the incident gained traction, the Amap customer service team proactively messaged Han Lu, stating that after verification, the store had not yet opened and the large number of reviews on the page were fake and abnormal, and that they had been reviewed and handled. However, this response did not address Han Lu's core concerns. He immediately raised two questions: first, why has the platform kept such an obvious loophole that allows anyone to smear a business before it even opens, and second, how can merchants prove their innocence if they encounter malicious reviews after officially opening?
After that, Han Lu did not share any further responses from Amap customer service, nor did he receive replies from Meituan or Dianping. However, as of press time, the negative reviews shown in his screenshots have been completely removed.
Fake reviews show earlier signs
Today, Amap provided an explanation to reporters regarding the flood of malicious fake reviews on Han Lu's unopened store. The platform stated that its location reviews are centered around specific places, and many reviews are linked to users' actual navigation and arrival behaviors. The platform uses this to verify whether users actually navigated to the store, which provides a core reference for review authenticity. Reviews verified by actual navigation receive weighted consideration, while those without navigation history are downranked to help other users understand the location. Location ratings only include reviews that have passed authenticity verification, removing invalid reviews to ensure ratings reflect real customer experiences.
Amap also said it encourages users to share genuine, objective, and helpful content, and that users and businesses can report suspected fake or malicious reviews for review and handling in accordance with laws and community rules. The company pledged to continuously improve its review mechanisms.
Meituan and Dianping did not give a clear response, with customer service stating that receiving negative reviews before opening does have a negative impact and that it could be caused by store information being mistakenly operated.
An investigation revealed that Han Lu's situation is far from isolated. Even before this incident, users had spotted fabricated reviews appearing out of nowhere on these platforms. For example, on Amap, screenshots showed that a Legoland project in Sichuan Tianfu New Area had not yet resumed construction, yet accounts suspected to be bots posted positive reviews claiming the performances and interactive activities were fun, weekends were crowded, and some attractions had long queues.
Additionally, the recommendation review systems on Meituan and Dianping have been widely questioned by users who posted warnings. Some consumers used the platforms to find good food but were disappointed upon arrival, finding that not only was the food quality poor, but their genuine reviews were reported and blocked by merchants. Comments described how content that was calm and compliant, without any inflammatory language, was blocked simply because merchants filed malicious reports, and appeals were rejected. Multiple consumers in comment sections shared uncomfortable experiences, including being contacted by restaurants through backend messages, phone calls, and text messages asking them to modify their reviews after they had honestly described their dining experiences.
Executives' claims about authenticity questioned
It is worth noting that executives from Amap, Meituan, and Dianping have all previously emphasized the importance of authentic reviews on their platforms.
At a launch event for the Amap Street Scan ranking, Amap CEO Guo Ning stated that authenticity is the core vitality of the rankings and that the Street Scan list will never be commercialized. The Amap Street Scan ranking was officially launched in September 2025 as a core product of Alibaba's Amap for entering the local life services market. It is officially defined as the world's largest real ranking based on actual foot traffic, using objective travel data such as navigation arrival numbers, dwell time, revisit frequency, and dedicated travel distance to replace traditional subjective user ratings.
At a Dianping Must-Eat List launch event, Meituan Vice President and Dianping Business Unit General Manager Tao Xuexuan also stated that Dianping always adheres to real people and real reviews, hoping to accumulate and amplify trust relationships growing from the real world.
However, based on current consumer and merchant feedback, the statements made by these two core executives may be facing contradiction.
Regarding the chaos in reviews and recommendations on Amap, Meituan, and Dianping, internet analyst Zhang Shule said that platforms do appear to have some loopholes in their review systems that allow reviews to bypass actual consumption. If true, this could enable teams that post fake negative reviews to cause trouble, even using negative reviews as leverage to harass various stores, forming an assembly line of gray and black industry practices. He also pointed out that while this situation may mainly exist for small and new stores, it can still negatively impact the business environment of the real economy. Platforms should quickly identify the causes, and if it is indeed a loophole in their review systems, they should promptly close it and publicize the fix to avoid affecting normal consumption, while cooperating with relevant authorities to conduct market supervision over suspected fake review teams.