The Power of Feedback: A Comparative Discourse Analysis of TripAdvisor Reviews by Expert and Novice Users in the UK and Italy

The paper analyses TripAdvisor online reviews of restaurants in the UK and Italy by expert and novice users. The analysis aims at identifying the elements used when reviewers construct their invented ethos, with the aim of demonstrating the credibility of their comments and exerting their power to influence possible diners’ choices. The study combines content analysis and corpus-assisted discourse analysis, focusing on the discursive construction of reviewers’ identities, expertise, and trustworthiness. Findings also show how difficult it might be to discern between genuine and fake content in reviews, in relation to more or less limited expertise.