Pet care company targeted by AI-generated fake review bombing campaign on Google
Summary
A Montreal pet care company, PAWSOME Concierge, became a victim of cyberbullying and AI-generated "review bombing" in July 2025, when 10 fake 1-star reviews appeared on their Google storefront within a week. The reviews, which were anonymous and lacked prior user history, threatened the company’s reputation and mental well-being of its co-founders, Nicola Masella and Terry D’Agostino. The company, which provides care for vulnerable pets in Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, reported sleepless nights and emotional distress following the incident. With the help of a Google representative at the Québec Startup fest, the company managed to have the fake reviews removed, though they noted Google typically takes years to address such cases. Technology analyst Carmi Levy explained that review bombing is a growing issue with no clear oversight, and the co-founders are considering a petition to raise awareness and push for better protections for small businesses.
Incident Details
Deliberate or negligent spread of false or misleading information with harmful real-world effects.
Deliberately fabricated content intended to mislead.
Sources
1This incident is documented by a single source. Source count reflects coverage in our monitored feeds, not the totality of reporting, and we do not evaluate publication quality.