L

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130 Points

Saturday, May 25th, 2024 12:39 PM

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User review guidelines applied inconsistently

It appears that there is a problem with certain user reviews not meeting IMDb guidelines but still being accepted, while others are not, without a valid reason.

In February 2023 I submitted a review of the movie 'Tar' (2022) and it was rejected (I subsequently deleted my account).  As part of the review I did mention the term "woke", as that is a theme that is explicitly explored in the movie. I have since realised that as per IMDb user review guidelines, the word "woke" is not allowed.

https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/contribution-information/user-review-guidelines/GABTWSNLDNFLPRRH?ref_=helpart_nav_12#

I have since created a new account and have successfully submitted reviews of three other titles, which have been published.

However, when recently trying to review The Handmaid's Tale (TV series, 2017 - 2025), my contribution got rejected (Contribution #240521-121823-072004).  I ticked the spoiler alert button, so I cannot see a possible reason for the rejection.

Keeping the user review guidelines as linked above in mind, I looked over existing reviews of the series and found a number of obvious contraventions (mentioning woke, mentioning other reviewers, inflammatory statements, statements about casting decisions based on race), as below:

1. Review title 'Preposterous' from 29 April 2017, refers to certain other reviewers as 'nutjobs'.

2. 'A very Timely Series That Is a Must See' from 28 April 2017 makes a reference to another reviewer's username and their review in a negative way.

3. 'Ignore the right wing trolls' from 16 August 2019.

4. 'Truly frightening and Great' from 1 May 2017 refers to Trump voters and fascists.

5. 'An horror masterpiece' from 13 April 2024 refers to "woke insanity".

6. 'Uneven Seasons ...' from 23 January 2023 refers to "woke".

7. 'Season 3 meh...' from 28 September 2022, refers to "woke" and also expresses the opinion that the main character's husband was chosen because of his race.

Given the above contraventions of IMDb policy with regard to user reviews and the general trend of inflammatory political statements in Handmaid's Tale reviews generally, it is clear that IMDb staff are not following the guidelines when vetting contributions. If my review of the series (Contribution #240521-121823-072004) has contravened the guidelines more than the examples given above, please explain how and I will do my best to amend it.  If on a second examination it does meet the guidelines, please publish it. Thank you.

Accepted Solution

Employee

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18.8K Points

6 months ago

Hi @lordsummerisle,

Regarding your contribution (#240521-121823-072004), it appears this has been declined as a result of a processing error. I would encourage you to re-submit your review and copy your new 18-digit submission reference to this thread so we can monitor it through processing for you.

As for the older reviews that contain instances of the word "woke" and its variations, these reviews were contributed prior to the guidelines being updated to prohibit the use of the word "woke", making these contributions and any other instances grandfathered (within reason).

I will look into the other reviews mentioned and determine whether they need further investigation.

I hope this helps!

2 Messages

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130 Points

Hi, thank you for your reply.  I believe that in the examples mentioned above, #5, #6 and possibly #7 would have been submitted after changes to IMDb user review guidelines prohibiting the term "woke", as I recall reading this in the guidelines as early as February 2023.

When pasting my review into the box for a second time I noticed a small note appear at the bottom telling me that the text contained profanity or offensive words. I worked out which one it was and made an adjustment.  It is now submitted with ref #240529-105838-625904.

Employee

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1.9K Messages

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18.8K Points

Hi @lordsummerisle,

Thank you for re-submitting your review. I can confirm your contribution has been approved and will appear live on the site shortly. The reported reviews are being investigated and any found to be in breach of our guidelines will be removed. 

Cheers!