We’ve discovered the review that says the thing is bad, is actually an ad for the thing, because the buy link has an affiliate code.

Am I understanding you right?

I feel like we have stumbled into a classic HN tarpit, where people try justifying something obviously wrong by adding one observation and implying it can be twisted into one segment of the obviously wrong thing.

It’s a tarpit, because as soon as I point out this doesn’t change anything, you can either point out you were just observing or claim some other claim was what was being implied