TripAdvisor sorry for Auschwitz review error
Review platform TripAdvisor has apologised after initially opting to leave up an offensive review of the Auschwitz Museum in Poland.
The review has now been deleted and the poster banned, it said, blaming a screening “failure”.
The museum complained about the post, in which the reviewer joked about bringing a baby to the gas chambers of the death camp.
The post also flippantly described the experience as “fun for the family”.
The Auschwitz Museum said that when it contacted TripAdvisor, it was initially informed that the posting fell within the site’s submission guidelines.
At least 1.1 million men, women and children were murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp, run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland, during World War Two. The majority were killed in its large complex of gas chambers.
The site now functions as a museum and memorial.
In a statement, TripAdvisor said it used “a blend of technology and people” in reviewing posts, and that in this case “our initial screening failed to identify this review as promoting intolerance”. It did not say whether human or machines had been involved in the original decision.
“Through our escalation process, this review was removed,” it said.
“We always aim to get it right the first time and we apologize to the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, the Jewish community at large, and all communities and individuals affected by this initial miss.”
The Auschwitz Museum had tweeted about the original error, and followed up by thanking TripAdvisor for its later action.