I think integrity in business has been steadily devalued by various crises and scandals (Enron, 2008, Worldcom) to the point that it sometimes seems quaint to even expect it anymore. Something similar seems to have happened with sponsored content - both influencers and celebrities have few qualms about using their name to sell the most questionable shit. Maybe it was always like this, but I don't recall there being so many celebrity ads when I was a teenager.
This, so much. There are a few Youtube channels I used to follow, that over time degraded into shameless shilling for completely irrelevant (to the channel) crap, and sometimes outright infomercials. I've tried engaging with the channel owners on this, and they literally don't understand what you're talking about.
These people started out passionately showing stuff they do in their garage, and now don't understand the concept of NOT doing everything 100% for the money. Shilling, scamming, it's all the new normal to these people.
More likely they now face a choice between shilling for shady VPN companies while doing fun stuff in their garage or doing less fun stuff in their garage while they work a real job to support it. Easy choice, IMO.
You were probably a teenager during Youtube’s (and every other online video service’s) extensive loss-leading period where they didn’t show ads. It’s a standard practice for VC viral growth. It really was a golden age for online video.
