NEW YORK (DPA) - Rotten Tomatoes, which relies on credible ratings to drive traffic to its website, on Thursday (May 23) took a step to prevent fake movie reviews.

The California-based company said it would offer a new feature that shows reviews and ratings by verified moviegoers.

The push is part of an effort to increase consumer confidence in its rating system at a time when some online trolls have tried to game the system, trashing movies they may have never seen.

Trolls previously waged campaigns to lower audience ratings for such movies as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the Ghostbusters reboot by posting negative comments.

Under the new feature, moviegoers who purchased tickets through seller Fandango can enter their rating on Rotten Tomatoes through Fandango's app or website.

When they post their rating, it will appear on Rotten Tomatoes as part of the "verified audience" section.

Rotten Tomatoes is owned by Fandango.

Consumers who cannot verify their tickets through Fandango can still enter their reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but these will not be included under the verified audience section.

Instead, those ratings will factor in the "all audience" section, which includes both verified and unverified moviegoers.

The feature will apply to new movies, such as Disney's live action version of Aladdin, which opens on Friday.

Later this year, AMC Theatres, Regal and Cinemark will also participate, verifying moviegoers' tickets so they can post authenticated Rotten Tomatoes reviews.