Glassdoor forced to reveal 'anonymous' author of critical Zuru review

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gzt

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#2943934 19-Jul-2022 20:06

Looks to me like Zuru believe this is a case of multiple reviews under false names and j
false job titles or something like that.

neb

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#2944929 21-Jul-2022 18:15

neb: Edited to add: It's already started:

And now they've made international news:

Glassdoor ordered to reveal identity of negative reviewers to New Zealand toymaker

1024kb

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#2945002 21-Jul-2022 23:13

Zuru gonna find it veeeeery hard to attract new talent after this witch hunt. Whether or not the Glassdoor review was justified (there's many Reddit posts that support it), the threat of the company hunting you down should you do anything that they disagree with, then using financial resource to squash you like a bug should be more than enough to warn sensible people off. This ruling does not apply in the US, where freedom of speech is a constitutional right.

Lego vs Zuru is in court soon. Let's see how Zuru likes being picked on by a giant.

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#2945025 22-Jul-2022 07:46

i think the idea is if you have money than you make your own rules

(other than the already mentioned nothing is anonymous on the internet)

robjg63

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#2945033 22-Jul-2022 08:26

Anonymity can be a powerful tool for sabotage.

If someone wants to try and cause some damage, its all too easy to do via google reviews, general negative feedback etc.

The place I work for had some completely bizarre reviews from 'people' who had never been customers and weren't even describing services we provide.

Freedom of speech is one thing I guess - but should you be able to create potentially damaging content that is anonymous and not able to be challenged?

Its a fine line.

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#2945035 22-Jul-2022 08:31

good point. everything useful is a double edged sword

Technofreak

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#2945159 22-Jul-2022 09:58

1024kb: Zuru gonna find it veeeeery hard to attract new talent after this witch hunt. Whether or not the Glassdoor review was justified (there's many Reddit posts that support it), the threat of the company hunting you down should you do anything that they disagree with, then using financial resource to squash you like a bug should be more than enough to warn sensible people off. This ruling does not apply in the US, where freedom of speech is a constitutional right.

Lego vs Zuru is in court soon. Let's see how Zuru likes being picked on by a giant.

I disagree, they'll have no problems. Zuru are not hunting them down because there's a disagreement. They're hunting them down because they don't know who made, what in their opinion, are incorrect claims. For all Zuru knows the person making the claims may have never worked for them or know anyone who worked for them. Zuru have a right to defend themselves.

If anyone is put off from joining a company like Zuru because of this they need to look at themselves. Everyone has the right to disagree but should really think about how they do it.

Annonymous online review platforms are not the correct vehicle to vent your thoughts about a company you worked for.

Don't say something online that you wouldn't say in person.

If they stick to rules like these they have nothing to fear.

Annoynous online review platforms are not a good way to judge whether or not a company is good to work for. The reviews both good and bad have been shown to be notoriously unreliable, however a lot of people take note of them and these reviews do affect the public perception of a product or company.

I don't blame Zuru for going after this/these annonymous disaffected person/people. Good on them I say. If it turns out Zuru have been over zealous that will be revealed in due course and Zuru will then pay the price of being seen as the bad actor. Somehow I don't expect so.

I see it as a high stakes game for Zuru. There's a lot to lose reputation wise if they lose. The fact they have taken this action indicates to me they are pretty sure their actions will be vindicated.

It's far too easy for people to make scurrlious claims and know they'll get away with it. Mostly because the people they wrong can't be bothered or don't have the resources to take action.

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freitasm

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#2945180 22-Jul-2022 10:48

On the other hand there's a chance that a company is not looking at finding who the person(s) is/are but only wanted bad reviews taken down. As per https://www.webworm.co/p/housefullofshit

But what’s even more interesting is that he doesn’t answer my question. He doesn’t say if they actually plan to take defamation action. There’s just this: “It was not until we took legal action that Glassdoor took action and removed those fake reviews.”

So going on what Nick Mowbray said to me, it seems like all Zuru wanted was those bad reviews gone. I’m not convinced they’re actually planning to take legal action against the reviewers.

But I guess they needed to say they were going to, to have a reason to initiate the legal action against Glassdoor — legal action which meant the bad reviews were dropped.

Zuru doesn’t need to win in a New Zealand court. They’ve already won.

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#2945184 22-Jul-2022 11:11

Zuru should read about Barbara Streisand. No one gave a crap who they were before all this.

Richard rich.ms

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#2945241 22-Jul-2022 13:29

SWMBO discussed this with me. Her comment was "Everyone hates bullies, but in particular, women hate bullies. Who buys their toys? I'll bet that the vast majority of actual purchasers are women. Zuru are bullies & because of that I'll never buy one of their toys."

She didn't wake up wondering what Glassdoor reviews said of Zuru, but now she knows, without even wanting to.

This whole event is turning into an own-goal of immense proportions.

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Technofreak

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#2945281 22-Jul-2022 14:50

1024kb: SWMBO discussed this with me. Her comment was "Everyone hates bullies, but in particular, women hate bullies. Who buys their toys? I'll bet that the vast majority of actual purchasers are women. Zuru are bullies & because of that I'll never buy one of their toys."

She didn't wake up wondering what Glassdoor reviews said of Zuru, but now she knows, without even wanting to.

This whole event is turning into an own-goal of immense proportions.

How does trying to find out who, has in your opinion, maligned you make you a bully? I'm sorry I don't get the connection. Unless your wife knows more about this than I do, from what I've seen in the media I don't see how this can be construed as bullying.

On the flip side the we potentially have defamation and lies. No one likes a liar either.

If someone has to hide behind anonymity on a public platform then I have to question their motives.

In reality the truth probably lies in the middle somewhere and misunderstanding about something.

It does neither party any good to have a spat like this out in public

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elpenguino

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#2945406 22-Jul-2022 16:09

Technofreak:

1024kb: SWMBO discussed this with me. Her comment was "Everyone hates bullies, but in particular, women hate bullies. Who buys their toys? I'll bet that the vast majority of actual purchasers are women. Zuru are bullies & because of that I'll never buy one of their toys."

She didn't wake up wondering what Glassdoor reviews said of Zuru, but now she knows, without even wanting to.

This whole event is turning into an own-goal of immense proportions.

How does trying to find out who, has in your opinion, maligned you make you a bully? I'm sorry I don't get the connection. Unless your wife knows more about this than I do, from what I've seen in the media I don't see how this can be construed as bullying.

On the flip side the we potentially have defamation and lies. No one likes a liar either.

If someone has to hide behind anonymity on a public platform then I have to question their motives.

Of course your mum named you Technofreak and my mother named me elpenguino.......

Use of anonymity to review a workplace is perfectly reasonable, especially if the reviewer likes working and wants to do it again.

IMO, sites like this level the playing field back to the employee, even if it is just a little bit.

But as you said earlier, fake reviews are not fair and it's reasonable to expect the reviews to be 'real' or verifiable.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

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