They are actively poisoning the internet in more ways than one.
They had their chance to work out better ways to advertise, and they instead redoubled assaults on attention.
This is getting installed on all of my browsers on all of my PCs. If your startup is advertising based, find a different model, or do without my business. I have no obligation to help you fund yourself or use your product if I find the monetization model insidious.
For example, anything related to pyramid schemes like Xango, Avon, etc. Keyword space is SUPER competitive for "indenependent distributors" and so their PPC rates are through the roof
If they are small enough, niche enough, or entrenched enough, then it sometimes seems to work for a limited time. Personally I don't find it a major threat.
Broad strokes and wide assumptions go both ways.
Keep a list of identified writers/writer 'styles' that are penned by fraudsters. Like easy-list is for ads.
That'd be the only way to clean up to the net. For a while at least.