If they have done as much for ASR as I have, sure.
Well, and there I see the problem. I believe you’re missing the core of the concern.
This isn’t about your personal integrity, your past contributions to ASR, or whether other reviewers are worse. It’s about structural independence and perceived impartiality, not your intentions.
You’ve stated that you’ve “done more than anyone else” to remain above bias. That may be true regarding ads, sponsorships, and affiliate links. But you’ve now entered a commercial partnership where you financially benefit from the success of a specific brand that is also reviewed, discussed, and promoted on a platform you founded and control. That inherently changes the playing field.
Yes, ASR has hosted reviews of products from your other company before. But those were limited, isolated cases that clearly remained incidental to the platform’s broader mission. This new venture is qualitatively different: you’re not just reviewing a product, you’re building a distribution business, using ASR to gauge demand, raise visibility, and ultimately drive commercial traction.
You’ve also said this is a financial risk. That’s fair, but it’s exactly why ASR’s role becomes problematic. Leveraging ASR’s reach to reduce that risk creates a powerful incentive to use the platform as a marketing engine, even if unintentionally. And that incentive conflicts directly with ASR’s role as a neutral review space.
This isn’t primarily about reviews. It’s about how ASR is being potentially used to launch and promote a commercial venture, which shifts its role from neutral platform to potential business amplifier. That change matters, and simply insisting it doesn’t won’t undo it.
You can’t mitigate this by pointing out flaws in other reviewers or reminding us of your past choices. Ethics isn’t a race to the bottom. Nor is it about whether you’re a good person or not. It’s about maintaining a clear separation between editorial authority and business interest, especially in a community built on data, transparency, and skepticism.
Even taking a few concrete steps, like establishing a clear boundary between ASR’s editorial space and commercial announcements, would go a long way toward showing that you take these concerns seriously.
