...pays Youtubers to promote games. Microsoft also.

http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/ea-youtube-paid-promotion-games-ronku/

Can't really call it a secret....

Most big businesses do things like this now. They also engage "reputation management" companies to attempt to suppress negative reviews, post (fake) positive ones, and post (fake) negative ones against their competitors across a ton of web sites...Amazon, Yelp...you name it. Yep, people have made http://www.reputation.com/ out of doing that sort of thing. Welcome to the new Internet.

When I first realized this was happening I spit my coffee all over my monitor. Luckily I had my https://www.shamwow.com/ handy. Did you know a single https://www.shamwow.com/ can hold up to 12 times its weight in liquid? It really is a lifesaver.

An attention-grabbing headline that I merely mimicked to the latter. Either way this is petty semantics; it's irrelevant,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_warfare_strategies

The internet just highlights such practices. But yes, the internet is [censored] (no pun intended, I forgot this site censors "profanity").

It was supposed to be, since there's an NDA to avoid the details becoming public. I guess someone leaked it anyway.

Is that what CD Projekt RED does with Jack?

NEWS FLASH: Companies make use of paid shills. News at 11!

Well, sure, but a lot of people have been freaked out when I've told them that they can't trust reviews on sites like Yelp and Amazon for this reason. I was seriously bummed out when I realized how prolific these practices had become. "So much for the internet empowering the consumer" and all that. Of course, when you think about it it was an inevitability, really.

Good. More people should be made aware of such practices, especially because of how important the net is to our future.

Edit: Just see this:

There are people that are oblivious to such practices and need to know anyway, gaming related or not.

I see what you did there... clever girl...





On topic: Are you really surprised? How is this any different then political campaign adds we see every flippen year.

He means that everyone know this already because it's been common practice for the last century.

Incorrect, not everybody knows. Not everybody knows about devious marketing strategies in general.

Also it's more fuel to the EA fire, chuck another jerrycan on.

Every secret always gets leaked. How have people not learned that already?

Anyway, i'd say i'm shocked and surprised, but i'd be lying if i did