Several independently-owned restaurants in Philadelphia have been hit with a wave of fake one-star reviews on Google, with at least one restaurant having a reviewer be asked to be paid through WhatsApp to have them taken down.

Alex Tewfik, the owner of Mish Mish in East Passyunk, said he and his staff put their blood, sweat and tears into the restaurant. So when Tewfik got a one-star review on Google he was confused.

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"And then I clicked into it and saw 39 other reviews all one star, all mentioning all things we don’t serve here," Tewfik said. "Curry, noodles, tacos, burgers. Then I was like oh my god this is an attack on the restaurant right now.

And, it turns out Tewfik's restaurant wasn't the only one

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