Tripadvisor banned from claiming its reviews are real They argued that wording on Tripadvisor's website - claiming that the site contained "reviews you can trust" and "honest" opinions from "real travellers" - was misleading as Tripadvisor could not prove that the reviews were genuine. Chris Emmins, co-founder of Kwikchex, said that there are a "substantial" number of fake reviews on Tripadvisor, which is being "abused by fraudsters." Fake comments range from unsubstantiated claims of food poisoning in restaurants to theft and credit card fraud in hotels, said Mr Emmins. Tripadvisor, which has removed the wording from its website, said that the ASA had taken a "highly technical view" of its online marketing copy that was "used in a limited capacity." In a statement, the company said: "We have confidence that the 50 million users who come to our site every month trust the reviews they read on Tripadvisor, which is why they keep coming back to us in increasingly larger numbers to plan and have the perfect trip." A spokesman added that the average traveller reads dozens of reviews before making an informed decision on where to travel, rather than just "one or two" reviews. Travellers base their decision on "the wisdom of the crowds" rather than isolated reviews, the spokesman said. We know that our users approach Tripadvisor with common sense, and make an educated decision based on the opinions of many. If people did not feel the insight they gained from our site was an accurate reflection of their experience they wouldn't keep coming back," the spokesman said.