Review bombing: ideology-driven polarisation in online ratings: The case study of The Last of Us (part II)

Abstract

A review bomb is a surge in online reviews, coordinated by a group of people willing to manipulate public opinions. This is a study on a prominent case of review bombing (n = 51,120) of the video game The Last of Us Part II, challenging the assumption that review bombing should be framed solely as misinformation. The impact of fake reviews is substantially small. Ideology-driven ratings associated with a conservative ideology are followed by a grassroots counter-bombing from progressives, aimed at mitigating the effects of the negative ratings. These factions are very similar in other metrics. Preventive measures are proposed.