By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/09/2026As with every instance of corruption, this was a system of concentrated gains and diffuse losses, which is why it continued for so long (decades!) and got so bad before anyone took action to end it. 21/ 11599
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/09/2026Amazon's payola isn't about radio play - it's about *search*. When you search Amazon, the top results do not represent Amazon's best guess about what product will best match your query: rather, Amazon *auctions off* those top results to its platform sellers. 22/ 430998
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/09/2026Amazon's search results reflect who paid the biggest bribe, not who has the best product. To pay for those bribes, platform sellers have to raise prices. 23/ 121943
Flynntheghost🎃🦇🪄 @flynntheghost.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Google is trying to copy this aspect of Amazon's business model. 🤢 000
mwogulis.bsky.social @mwogulis.bsky.social · 04/09/2026So that's why Amazon search sucks so badly. It's always baffled me, but this makes sense of it. Is this separate from the labeled "sponsored" links? In other words, are all off the highest placed results paid for or only the ones labeled "sponsored"? 000
