Officially Wirecutter functions based on affiliate links and kickbacks and the reviewing staff isn't informed of this to maintain a separation. But this is a ve

Officially Wirecutter functions based on affiliate links and kickbacks and the reviewing staff isn't informed of this to maintain a separation. But this is a very weak defense. It's still a massive coincidence and obvious candidate for a conflict of interest when a product gets downgraded just as the kickback deal falls through. Looking at the email exchanges I can't honestly think this is a coincidence. I've been shaken down before (unrelated to this topic) and that's exactly how it looked. My own experience going through Wirecutter's reviews kind of supports the idea that it's "pay to win".