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Before the internet critics were in magazines or on tv, paid for by advertising some of the products they review
It has always been so
Absolutely. I remember a lecture in th 80s that described junketeering. A photograhy reviewer would get invited to Tokyo for the review of a new Cannon $500+ lens (in '80s dollars!) includiing a week of sightseeing and fancy meals and would get to keep the lens! You can bet, given a choice of raving about the lens and getting to go next year, or offering a measurd opinion and risking getting uninvited, they would choose the former.
Post internet, even casual hobbyists know about press junkets and scoop rackets, so when the AAA wizard game gets 9.5/10 on gamespot, it no longer means anything. (Novices and grandparents buying computer games for their grandkids will still believe the reviews, though.)
I follow a car YouTube channel "Auto Expert John Cadogan", he's now an independent commenter in the car space, but he used to work for a car magazine and car tv show.
He talks about the junkets and really enjoys telling his viewers how bad the brands he used to have to support are. I think he's on YouTube because he has the money and time and misses being on TV, he's clearly not paid by any of the car companies
Knowing how it works you see it in online reviews - a 3d printer guy when reviewing never says anything bad about any of the brands that send him early release new printers, because they'll stop supplying him if he doesn't praise their new machine