Some Seattle restaurateurs channel anger at anti-vaxxers into humor; others fear consequences
In the few weeks since more than 100 Seattle-area restaurants began announcing policies requiring customers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, an epidemic of online trolls have attacked, using single-star Yelp and Google reviews in attempts to threaten or destroy businesses.
A few Seattle restaurateurs are fighting back using two of the best tools they have on hand — transparency and humor — while others fear the potential collision of two of America’s most dangerous elements: anti-vaccine activists and gun violence.
In the course of a few days, one fake Yelp user amassed dozens of one-star reviews of Seattle restaurants, complaining that the vaccination policy meant that two-thirds of Black people were no longer welcome there and accusing businesses of racism. Aside from being a complete stretch, it is also simply wrong: while vaccination inequity is an issue, 60% of King County’s eligible Black population is fully vaccinated.
Other reviews poured in from New York, Nevada and California, complaining that showing proof of vaccination violates HIPAA (false), “seems inhumane, really,” or would expose their full name and “who knows if they steal information or not.” (Presumably, that last person has never paid for a meal with a credit card.) Others made wild accusations including that the restaurant was full of asbestos, that staff used slurs or were violent toward customers.
https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/food/article/anti-vaxxers-leave-1-star-yelp-and-google-reviews-16379465.php