reddit detectives discover water is wet, industry shook

A perfectly reasonable observation about astroturfing wrapped in the visual language of a conspiracy exposé. Someone took a genuinely plausible marketing practice (which has existed since the dawn of online promotion) and packaged it with the Reddit mascot like they'd uncovered something shocking. It's the digital equivalent of someone running into the town square to announce that companies advertise—technically true, maximally unhinged in its delivery.