The issue here is that a link is not supposed to say "I vouch for this site". A link is supposed to be a hyperlink. Google creates a false incentive to link/n

The issue here is that a link is not supposed to say "I vouch for this site". A link is supposed to be a hyperlink. Google creates a false incentive to link/not link, and then complains when people link in a way that they don't approve of. This is a problem of Google's making.