As someone who add Reddit to my query when I search products, I’m not really looking for a review. Generally, I look for subreddits talking about what I’m trying to buy. I then see if they have a good wiki/something pinned about purchasing advice. Then, I take a look at what is posted about the product I had in mind (mostly questions not reviews). It’s more interesting to read about the experience of actual users than reading a review. You learn a lot from what they find frustrating.
Most of them remains user controlled with relatively lax moderation involving somewhat large teams. I don’t doubt shilling must happen sometimes and moderators on the biggest sub might be bought but most of the time it still feel like genuine users talking to genuine users.
