Future Tech reports that IMDb has altered its rating system following a review-bombing of The Little Mermaid.

In recent years, online review-bombing has become a growing concern for many websites that rely on user-generated content. One of the latest victims of this phenomenon is the popular movie database IMDb, which has been forced to alter its rating system following a review-bombing of the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

For those unfamiliar with the term, review-bombing refers to the practice of leaving a large number of negative reviews for a product or service in order to artificially lower its rating. This can be done for a variety of reasons, such as political or ideological disagreements, personal vendettas, or simply for the sake of trolling.

In the case of The Little Mermaid, the review-bombing appears to have been motivated by a backlash against the casting of Halle Bailey, a black actress, in the lead role. Some fans of the original animated movie, which featured a white protagonist, took to IMDb to express their displeasure with the casting decision, leaving hundreds of one-star reviews and dragging down the film’s overall rating.

This is not the first time that IMDb has been targeted by review-bombers. In the past, the site has been hit by coordinated attacks against movies like Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel, both of which were criticized by some fans for their perceived political correctness.

In response to the latest incident, IMDb has announced that it will be changing its rating system to prevent review-bombing from having such a significant impact on a movie’s score. The new system will take into account the number of votes a movie receives, as well as the demographic breakdown of those voters, in order to give a more accurate representation of its popularity.

This move has been welcomed by many in the film industry, who have long been frustrated by the influence of review-bombing on the perception of their work. Some have even called for other websites, such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, to follow IMDb’s lead and implement similar changes to their rating systems.

However, others have expressed concern that the new system could be open to abuse, with some users potentially gaming the system by creating fake accounts or manipulating the demographics of their votes. There are also fears that the new system could lead to a lack of transparency, with users unsure of how their votes are being counted and weighted.

Despite these concerns, it seems clear that something needed to be done to address the issue of review-bombing. With the rise of social media and online activism, it is likely that we will continue to see more instances of this kind of behavior in the future. By taking steps to prevent review-bombing from having such a significant impact on a movie’s rating, IMDb is setting an important precedent for other websites to follow.