This is quite common in the product world. Even before the internet we had "as seen on TV" where people would go to extreme lengths to get their product mention

This is quite common in the product world. Even before the internet we had "as seen on TV" where people would go to extreme lengths to get their product mentioned either on some magazine show or, failing that, just an informercial. They then have a circular reference which can be used to gain legitimacy when trying to get covered in a more prestigious publication.