Documentary
United States of America
Billion Dollar Bully is a documentary film directed by Kaylie Milliken, which delves into the unethical business practices of Yelp!, an online review platform. The film reveals how Yelp! has been using its dominant position and influence to extort small business owners by forcing them to pay for advertising by manipulating their user reviews.
The documentary receives testimonials from users who claim to have been targeted by Yelp! and its sales representatives. Business owners say that after refusing to pay for advertising, their positive reviews begin to disappear and their negative reviews start appearing prominently on their profiles. They also allege that Yelp! filters positive reviews and displays negative reviews to coerce businesses to advertise on their platform.
The documentary presents a more in-depth look into Yelp!'s business model and how it makes money. It shows how Yelp! has been accused of being a two-faced company by claiming they help small businesses, but in reality, it's generating revenue from those businesses by offering to control their ratings.
The film highlights how Yelp! is practically a monopoly in online review sites, leaving business owners with no other choice but to agree to their demands. Additionally, it highlights how the company's algorithm favors reviews from people with substantial histories on the site, further illustrating how it can manipulate promotions to those who agree with their monetary terms.
In conclusion, the film provides an inside look at Yelp!'s unethical practices and how their algorithm seemingly operates. It gives a loud and clear message to users and small business owners to be vigilant about the businesses they support and the sites they use to review them. The documentary has garnered significant attention on various streaming platforms since its release in 2019.
