[bsimpson]

Wirecutter was a good premise, but now it and everyone copying it are untrustworthy.

It feels like the human version of AI hallucination: saying what they think is convincing without regard for if it's sincere. And because it mimics trusted speech, it can slip right by your defense mechanisms.

[whyenot]

I think it's smart to be skeptical of any "review" site that depends on affiliate links for income. The incentive is no longer to provide advice, it's to sell you something. Anything. Click the link. Good. Now buy something. That's right. Add it to your basket. It doesn't matter what you buy. Yes, higher priced items are better. Checkout. We get our sweet kickback, nice.

Unfortunately, every review site uses affiliate links. Even organizations with very high ethical standards like Consumer Reports use them now. At least CR still gets most of its income from subscriptions and memberships. I guess that's something.

[nerdsniper]

> Yes, higher priced items are better.

This is the real reason I don't trust sources that make money off affiliate links. The incentive is to recommend the more expensive items due to % kickback.

[astrange]

Wirecutter is part of NYTimes and depends on crosswords for income.

I haven't always agreed with them and sometimes the articles are clearly wrong because they're several years old, but they're usually good.

(I think I last seriously disagreed with them about a waffle maker.)

[ghaff]

Wirecutter still seems pretty good for stuff you aren't really expert on or have strong opinions about. But that was true of Consumer Reports in the old days too. Not saying it's perfect but, especially for low-value purchases, you probably won't go too far wrong.

[dylan604]

Any good idea will be copied by those with lesser motives.

[yencabulator]

And any good execution will be sold off to those who don't care about your motives.