They are getting this adoration because they invest heavily in building it. They now have hordes of PR people creating their reputations in newspapers, tvs, soc

They are getting this adoration because they invest heavily in building it. They now have hordes of PR people creating their reputations in newspapers, tvs, social networks and blogs. It's better than lobbying because you don't need to convince people to do things your way if they like you. I've noticed such activity in places as unexpected as imgur, reddit or HN. Posts boosted out of nowhere, waves of comments for a specific trend in their favor, accounts that are very quick to react to critics, etc. It feels off, but on the other hand it's impossible to prove. You could always argue it's genuine and it would be impossible to be sure.