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Google threatened tech influencers unless they ‘preferred’ the Pixel

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Summary
Nutrition label

74% Informative

Google's Team Pixel program is a program that seeds early Pixel phones to influencers before public availability.

The program stipulated that influencers were not allowed to feature Pixel phones alongside competitors.

Those who showed a preference for competing phones risked being kicked out of the program.

For those hoping to break into the world of tech reviews, the new terms meant having to choose between giving up access or keeping their integrity.

The problem is there are no guidelines to follow and limited disclosure to help consumers if what they’re reading or watching was paid for in some way. The FTC is taking some steps to curtail fake and misleading reviews online, but as it stands right now, it can be hard for the average person to spot a genuine review from marketing. The Team Pixel program didn’t create this mess, but it is a sobering reflection of the murky state of online reviews..

VR Score

64

Informative language

55

Neutral language

63

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

51

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

medium-lived

Affiliate links

no affiliate links