This was just incredibly dumb. Now any positive news about their new phone is going to be seen as planted.
It really isn’t, which is why it’s news when something like that comes out. People sometimes confuse being cynical with knowing how things work.
That said, this one is confusing, because it really does seem like Google is blurring the lines here between an ad spot or a product placement spot and pre-release samples for tech influencers intending to review them.
Honestly, cynicism aside, The Verge does a good job of breaking it down, including clarifying that they are under no such stipulations for their own review, so I’d recommend just reading the article in full.
They don’t care, the massive majority of normies will never hear about it and those that do won’t care
Normies buy Redmi Note Pro Max + (or iPhone if they’re rich). Pixel is for devs and photos.
Can I just say, I’m incredibly pissed off at Xiaomi (and at the redmi sub brand by extension) at how difficult unlocking the bootloader is on newer devices. Like, you have to make an account with them, log in, and then wait 7 days, to unlock the bootloader, like WHAT? Why? I kinda understand the account, cuz spyware, but why the 7 day wait? So you’re forced to use their crappy bloated and spyware-and-ad-ridden system? It’s just really frustrating. Left a bad taste in my mouth to the point where I’m considering a switch to another brand for my next phone.
Influencer is a fancy word for salesman. Instead of going door to door like grandpa did in the old days, they stream directly to your device.
influencers used to be called attention whores but you can’t really use that term if you want to shill products
So these influencers are against this type of practice? That means they all really do play Raid:Shadow legends.
This is for “brand ambassadors” says LTT (WAN show).
We don’t call it fake news for no reason… These media whores ways been shilling whoever pays them and mega corps pays.