Rotten Tomatoes has disabled comments and audience ratings for upcoming movies in the wake of a 'troll' campaign against the soon-to-be released Captain Marvel.

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The review aggregator has made a number of changes to the ways it showcases user comments, designed to discourage what the website calls "bad actors" from bringing down a movie's rating before it is released.

Rotten Tomatoes previously showed a percentage scoring each movie’s 'Want to See' rating. The site has now announced that it has disabled this score, and has removed user comments prior to a film's release.

Captain Marvel starring Brie Larson has reportedly been the target of a coordinated wave of negative posts on Rotten Tomatoes, following in the wake of similar campaigns against Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Black Panther.

Rotten Tomatoes explained in a statement why it had removed 'Want to See' scores and comments for upcoming films.

"We’re doing it to more accurately and authentically represent the voice of fans, while protecting our data and public forums from bad actors," the site said.

Rotten Tomatoes added that it had taken the decision to remove comments after it noticed "an uptick in non-constructive input, sometimes bordering on trolling, which we believe is a disservice to our general readership."

However, once a movie is released, viewers will be able to rate and comment as normal.

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“We have decided that turning off this feature for now is the best course of action," the site explained. "Don’t worry though, fans will still get to have their say: Once a movie is released, audiences can leave a user rating and comments as they always have.”

Authors

Ellie HarrisonWriter, RadioTimes.com
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