According to BoundingIntoComics:
Prime Video and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is being accused of buying praise from Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings YouTubers and influencers after the show has received positive critic reviews despite massive negative reviews from viewers.
Not only has the show seen massive negative reviews from viewers, but Amazon announced a change to their review system that was confirmed by a Prime Video representative to Variety who reported that Prime Video “quietly introduced a 72-hour delay for all user reviews posted to Prime Video.”
The reviews are also “then evaluated to determine whether it’s genuine or a forgery by a bot, troll, or other breed of digital goblin.”
Now, YouTuber George The Giant Slayer posits that Prime Video has been buying praise from Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings YouTubers.
He first points to the numerous influencers Prime Video used in an attempt to hype the show when they flew them to a castle in Mallorca to view the first official trailer for the series. Next, George The Giant Slayer points to numerous influencers repeating the same talking points after meeting with the show’s showrunner Patrick McKay and JD Payne at an event in London.
However, the most damning evidence comes from YouTuber Hello Future Me, who polled his subscribers back in August asking whether he should take sponsorship from Amazon for a video on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power when it premieres.
The YouTuber asked, “How do you feel about me taking a sponsorship from Amazon for my video on LOTR: Rings of Power when it premieres—if they don’t get any say in what I say? I’m conflicted. It’s free $$$ for a video I was gonna do anyway, but I really don’t want to be seen as an Amazon shill at all.”
