Facebook to soon add reviews from restaurant critics on Pages

Facebook is constantly on the move to upgrade and improvise its social networking platform. The company has reportedly stated that it will soon display editorial content, in the form of reviews by professional restaurant critics on Facebook Pages. These reviews will show up along with starred reviews from friends and other Facebook users as well.

According to a report by The Verge, Facebook has partnered with five established publications such as Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Eater, New York magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle to source professional reviews. The 'Critic Reviews' section will be placed above user reviews and will include images and a short description too. Users can also read the full detailed review on the publisher's website by simply clicking on the link.

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The company will showcase negative reviews as well if they have been provided by the publisher. As Facebook Pages is an advertising platform, this could have its advantages and disadvantages as most businesses want to have control over the types of reviews placed on their ads.

Critic Reviews by Facebook could also challenge other similar products in the market such as Yelp and Zagat, the restaurant guide purchased by Google in 2011. As of now, it looks like Facebook is aiming to be a local search engine.

A Facebook spokeswoman told The Verge in an email that, "Since reviews are such an important part of helping people make informed decisions about what to do locally, we're excited to be incorporating a new way for people to use Facebook to find the best real-world experiences". She added that the pilot will include 'thousands' of restaurants.