Hat tip to Soylenet News for this:
| Affiliate Links Are Ruining Gadget Reviews |
| from the ethical-dilemma dept. |
| posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday December 04, @12:49 (Techonomics) |
| Affiliate Links Are Ruining Gadget Reviews - SoylentNews |
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[0]upstart writes:
Submitted via IRC for chromas
[1]Affiliate Links Are Ruining Gadget Reviews - OneZero
Have you ever seen an article about a gadget that offered to “find you the best price on this product” just by clicking on a link?
This is usually an affiliate link, and it’s supposed to be accompanied by text saying that the poster may get a commission, both [2]according to Federal Trade Commission rules (in the United States), and specific program terms. In the case of Amazon, a specific single-line of boilerplate is the only public disclosure members are allowed ([3]See Section Five). Affiliate links aren’t simply links to the product’s website. Instead, they take you right to a retail outlet, like Amazon.
[…] If you buy a product through one of these links, the shopping site sends a small fee back to the site you came from. Affiliate programs were designed to spread the general reach of online retail. It’s an automated machine that places ads all over the internet for Amazon and other stores without their sales departments lifting a finger.
[…] When a critic posts an affiliate link for a product they’re reviewing, they’re now earning money directly from the sales of the thing you’re supposed to trust them to evaluate.
That’s a big, obvious ethical issue. And it’s created a snowball effect that has fed the rage, elitism, and skepticism already rampant in dedicated online fan communities.
[4]Original Submission
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