Business
20 August, 2026
Google review attacks
A LARGE number of local businesses and organisations, including the Douglas Shire Council, have been hit with false and defamatory Google reviews in recent days, most of which appear to be coming from the same small number of dubious Google account holders.
Jamie McPaul from Mossman Mechanical recently wrote to Douglas Shire businesses and the Douglas Shire Council alerting them of one-star ratings and derogatory remarks that they had received and she had observed online.
Businesses that Ms McPaul noted as being affected include Smartphone & Tablet Solutions, C & K Mossman Community Kindergarten, Wildlife Habitat, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, Kubirri Aged Care Centre, Ampol Wonga Beach, Mobil Port Douglas, Newell Beach Takeaway and Café, Origin Espresso Port Douglas, Palmer Sea Reef Golf Club, Raintrees Café, Ergon Depot Mossman, Sabis Indian Kitchen and Seafood Restaurant, Tracey Jones Photography, Mossman Indoor Sports Centre, Mossman Showgrounds and Mossman Saturday Market.
In her letter to those affected she said: “I am writing to seek council’s assistance regarding what appears to be a coordinated campaign of false and malicious Google reviews targeting the Douglas Shire Council and a number of local businesses.”
The reviews have been posted under what appears to be three separate Google accounts: Wilma Diqfit, Charles Kirk and Joachim Pieper. A name such as Joachim Pieper is most likely to be fictitious as it also relates to a German Schutzstaffel (SS) commander and a Nazi war criminal.
Ms McPaul says the content of these reviews contains allegations that are untrue and, in many cases, defamatory.
“They are unfairly impacting the online ratings of local businesses that work hard to serve our community, as well as affecting the council’s own public reputation,” she said.
“As a local business owner, I understand that genuine customer feedback is important and should always be welcomed. However, deliberately posting false reviews under multiple identities is a very different matter and has the potential to cause significant reputational and financial harm,” she said.
Another local business affected by these reviews is Smartphone & Tablet Solutions, in Mossman, who have received a number of one-star reviews recently with comments such as: “This ‘repair shop’ does the opposite of what its name suggests. They completely denied any wrongdoing and acted as though they had done nothing wrong. I posted a review a while ago about taking my son’s phone in to have the cracked screen repaired, but the technician smashed it with a hammer in front of me and threw it onto the road. I was shocked by the experience.”
Alison McIlroy, owner of the phone repair shop said: “It’s frustrating as some people are likely to take these reviews seriously. Google seems to be taking no action and are certainly not removing these false reviews.”
Douglas Shire Council has also been hit with a number of poor reviews.
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said it was disappointing to see a widespread pattern of questionable online reviews targeting local businesses, community organisations and council.
“Council has reported three ‘profiles’ to Google and encourages other affected organisations to do the same,” she said.
A Google representative said “we confirm we have investigated and addressed this matter. Our policies clearly state that reviews must be based on real experiences and information. If we find fake reviews that violate our policies, we take appropriate action including removing them”. To date, however, both Smartphone & Tablet Solution and Mossman Mechanical have yet to see their negative reviews removed.
Editor’s note: Story author Garry ‘Gazza’ McIlroy is the partner of Alison McIlroy.
