( CNN ) -- Phrases such as `` reviews you can trust '' and `` reviews from real travelers '' have misled TripAdvisor users in the United Kingdom , according to a judgment issued Wednesday by the Advertising Standards Authority in Britain . The decision comes in response to a complaint filed by a reputation management firm and two hotels , claiming that some of the claims of trustworthiness and authenticity on the very popular user-generated review site are misleading and ca n't be substantiated , since the site does n't verify reviews . `` We told TripAdvisor not to claim or imply that all the reviews that appeared on the website were from real travelers , or were honest , real or trusted , '' the ASA wrote in its decision . The issue is overblown , TripAdvisor indicates in its response to the ruling , saying the requested changes have already been made to the marketing copy on its website . `` We have confidence that the 50 million users who come to our site every month trust the reviews they read on TripAdvisor , which is why they keep coming back to us in increasingly larger numbers to plan and have the perfect trip , '' the company said in a statement , noting that the ASA 's `` highly technical view '' relates to two marketing phrases used `` in limited capacity . '' The ASA 's decision affects only TripAdvisor 's operations in the United Kingdom , where the company has been under pressure from businesses that say some of the site 's reviews are fake or defamatory . Chris Emmins , co-founder of KwikChex , the reputation management company that filed the complaint , said it receives regular inquiries and complaints from hoteliers who say that false TripAdvisor reviews are hurting their business . Unsubstantiated claims of bed bugs or food poisoning follow properties in online search results , and negative reviews are particularly damaging to small businesses since they do n't receive a high volume of reviews and negative accounts tend to linger longer near the top of a company 's listing , Emmins said . TripAdvisor 's claims of trustworthiness are misleading , he said . `` Patently , that just ca n't be true when you do n't verify the fact that it 's even a customer making the comments , '' he said . TripAdvisor has changed course recently , replacing a `` Reviews you can trust '' tagline last year with `` Reviews from our community . '' `` As with all marketing messaging , the wording used on the TripAdvisor site is constantly evolving to reflect different aspects of the business , which was the rationale behind a change back in June 2011 to put more focus on the TripAdvisor community , '' the company said . While TripAdvisor does n't claim to be 100 % free of fraud , according to the ASA ruling , the company told the ASA it uses advanced fraud detection systems and substantial resources to combat fraud . Emmins said it needs to do more . `` They could easily , with their resources , put in a tiered system which says 'this review has been authenticated , ' `` he said . TripAdvisor points out that as a reputation management company , KwikChex has `` an obvious commercial interest in undermining people 's confidence in user content-generated review platforms . '' The question of verifying reviews is far from resolved . In addition to damaging negative reviews , false positive reviews are used by some companies to bolster their rankings on review sites . KwikChex has filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. , Emmins said . The agency said it could not comment on individual complaints . Verified reviews or not , TripAdvisor 's community is growing . `` It is very much business as usual , '' TripAdvisor said in its response to the ASA ruling . `` TripAdvisor was founded on a core set of principles -- to give travelers a voice to share their experiences , promote consumer choice and encourage a level playing field for everyone in the industry -- all within a free forum for sharing open and honest opinions . ''
`` Reviews you can trust '' claim is misleading , UK ad regulator says . TripAdvisor has changed marketing messaging on its site . Growing number of TripAdvisor users indicates trust , company says .