History Main / BadReviewThreat

A sub-trope to SlaveToPR. Can be seen as the opposite of NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity. Compare to ConvictedByPublicOpinion and InsidiousRumorMill. Can also be considered a darker version of CausticCritic. Can overlap with FabricatedBlackmail if the reviewer threatens to spread lies. Compare StronglyWordedLetter and PokeThePoodle. May overlap with TheInspectorIsComing if a notable food critic ([[MistakenForSpecialGuest or someone mistaken for one]]) is involved. This can also be a tactic of the ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife. Contrast NiceToTheWaiter.

A sub-trope to SlaveToPR. Can be seen as the opposite of NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity. Compare to ConvictedByPublicOpinion and InsidiousRumorMill. Can also be considered a darker version of CausticCritic. Compare StronglyWordedLetter and PokeThePoodle. May overlap with TheInspectorIsComing if a notable food critic ([[MistakenForSpecialGuest or someone mistaken for one]]) is involved. This can also be a tactic of the ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife. Contrast NiceToTheWaiter.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jellystone}}'': In "VIP Baby You Know Me", Shag borrows money from the Banana Splits so he can make his family's cafe cooler. When the Splits demand the loan be repaid, they inform him that if he doesn't pay them back soon, they'll all go online and post one-star reviews for the cafe.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hiveswap}}'': One of the ways that you can obtain a train ticket is to tell Zebruh about Chixie's plan to protest at the event she's going to, leading to him blackmailing her into giving up her ticket by threatening to say bad things about her on social media. Since Chixie is a lowblood who relies on the support of highbloods like Zebruh and doesn't want to put herself at even more risk of being culled, she relents.

* In ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'', Fenneko plans to play ''Heartthrob: Virtual Boyfriend'' for a couple hours, pawn it off and then review-bomb it online out of spite. Her plan ''quickly'' changes when she [[PerverseSexualLust sees the main character.]]
--> ''"I-It's you! You're that hot-ass unicorn!"''
* In ''Anime/Cyborg009'', 006 nearly drives himself and the other cyborgs that volunteer to help him crazy because of an incoming food critic -- a loud and abrasive woman that kept threatening to dock points, throwing out threats like "Docking -37 points for slow service" while eating an insane amount of food, and then declaring it was all awful. After she ran off, a police officer reveals the woman was a fraud who regularly pulls this stunt to get free food.

** ''WebAnimation/MarioDoesThings'': In "Mario Joins Discord", the gang are trying to prevent Tari from looking up the full image of an explicit [=GIF=], which is achieved by having Meggy and Melony break in to Website/{{Google}} in a bid to shut down the internet. What gets Google to do the deed? Meggy threatening to give the Google Stadia a one-star rating.

* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpuTM3lIHs4 this story]], when Karin, Yuri, and Yuzuriha visit Akamatsu's organic cafe a second time, Karin notes that the cafe was empty despite being so crowded one week ago. When Yuzuriha shows her a 0.5-star review of the café, it turns out Akamatsu himself [[spoiler:only let pretty moms get in without reservation, and he sexually harassed them after they breastfed their babies. To top it off, Yuzuriha plays a video on social media that shows him being an asshole to a mom whose baby puked in the table.]]

This trope has become more common following the introduction of online review apps, such as ''Yelp'' and ''[=TripAdvisor=]'' which allow anyone to make their opinions of a service quickly and publicly known, and exacerbated by so-called [[BadInfluencer Influencers]], some of which are more than happy to use their clout to demand preferred treatment and even free goods and services "in exchange for the free advertising" (not unlike a ProtectionRacket). Or they may have an unreasonable BrattyFoodDemand. It is not uncommon for owners of these places to respond back with meticulous details of the reviewers' experience to defend their establishment (and their staff, for that matter), and out the reviewer for lying and being untrustworthy.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Big Stan on Campus", when Roger runs a bed-and-breakfast, in order to keep his perfect five-star rating, he and the Smiths need to perfectly service a particularly uptight guest (who subtly implies that he won't give them that rating unless they provide everything he asks of them).

-->--'''Maw Rugg''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Jellystone}}''

-->'''Dwight:''' Trip Advisor is the life blood of the Agrotourism industry. A couple of bad reviews there, you might as well close up shop. That’s what took down the Stalk Inn. One of the cutest little asparagus farms you’ll ever see.

* ''WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'': In "Mario’s Bed and Breakfast", Bob and Breakfast 2 is such a success that it’s stealing business from every other hotel in town, much to the disdain of [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing Tom Nook]] and the Hotel Owner’s Association. In response, they send an army of [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic Nostalgia Critics]] to invade the hotel and mass-review-bomb it into oblivion.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jellystone}}'': In "VIP Baby You Know Me", Shag borrows money from the Banana Splits so he can make his family's cafe cooler. When the Splits demand the loan be repaid, they inform him that if he doesn't pay them back soon, they'll all go online and post one star reviews for the cafe.

* In the ''Ability'' episode "Ranting and Rating", Matt writes a social media post about how disabilty-unfriendly a restaurant is, and is surprised to find it makes him mildly famous and people encourage him to do more. He starts out with the intent of a genuine crusade, but then realises he can also use it to get free stuff.

* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpuTM3lIHs4 this story]], when Karin, Yuri, and Yuzuriha visit Akamatsu's organic cafe a second time, Karin notes that the cafe was empty despite being so crowded one week ago. When Yuzuriha shows her a 0.5-star review of the café, it turns out Akamatsu himself [[spoiler:only let pretty moms get in without reservation, and he sexually harassed them after breastfeeding their babies. To top it off, Yuzuriha plays a video on social media that shows him being an asshole to a mom whose baby puked in the table.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In "You're Not Yelping", Cartman and several other townspeople use the threat of posting bad reviews on Yelp to get whatever they want from local restaurants.

* ''Series/WeAreLadyParts'': Ayesha, the drummer for all-female, all-Muslim punk rock band Lady Parts, also drives for Uber. She is giving a ride to a trio of rude guys who see her in her hijab and ask if her dad is making her drive. She responds sarcastically ("Yeah, he said if don't drive simple, dickless pissheads around, he's going to send me to UsefulNotes/{{Iraq}} to marry my cousin.") One of them [[SarcasmFailure thinks she is serious]] but another threatens to give her a one-star rating. Ayesha does not care and deliberately puts on loud heavy metal music just to mess with them.