Warner Bros. paid YouTube users to give positive reviews for the game Shadow of Mordor.
The FTC has accused Warner Bros. of paying YouTube users to write positive reviews of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. The complaint alleges a 2014 online marketing campaign Warner Bros. ran for the game.
According to the Commission, Warner Bros. had required those it had hired at the time to create (see PDF file) a video to promote the game. It asked that this video “not show any errors or malfunctions that may exist” and “not contain any negative comments about the company.” The video was to be promoted on Facebook and Twitter. Although the Commission did not disclose the list of YouTube users that Warner Bros. used, it said that PewDiePie was one of them.
It's worth noting that Shadow of Mordor won eight out of nine DICE Awards. Warner Bros. probably didn't even need to pay people to get good reviews.
