“Why Tech Reviews Are All Lies”. Technology reviews have devolved from…

Technology reviews have devolved from genuine consumer advocacy and honest product evaluation into a sophisticated marketing apparatus disguised as journalism, where the overwhelming majority of supposedly independent reviews function as barely disguised advertising that serves manufacturer interests while pretending to provide objective guidance to consumers who desperately need honest information about expensive purchases but instead receive carefully crafted narratives designed to drive sales rather than inform decisions. This systematic corruption of technology reviewing represents one of the most successful propaganda operations in modern commerce, creating an entire ecosystem of YouTube channels, websites, magazines, and influencers who have convinced audiences they provide trustworthy product assessments while actually functioning as the marketing arms of technology companies who have perfected techniques for controlling coverage without the obvious crudeness of direct payment that would immediately discredit reviewers in audience eyes.

The problem extends far beyond occasional compromised reviews or individual corrupt journalists to encompass structural incentives, business model realities, and power dynamics that make genuinely independent technology reviewing nearly impossible within the current ecosystem, where access to review products, advertising revenue, affiliate…