Some of them probably are effectively paid advertising teams. That doesn't really explain some of the people you used to get on forums though. Why pay someone to write 24/7 micro-serial "Transformers" fan-fiction?
There are way too many true believers who are terminally online and you can find almost anything out there.
I'd guess it's a mix, with a little straight money, a lot of obsession, and a middling amount of compensated cat herding.
[1] The playbook being basically "discuss reasonable criticism, remove unreasonable criticism" ie "nobody talk too much about that battery fire, but don't make it look suspicious."
[2] "On the Internet, you know everybody who disagrees with you is a dog."
> There are way too many true believers who are terminally online and you can find almost anything out there.
There doesn't have to be a single explanation, though. It can be paid shills and obsessives.
Terminally online users are the problem. Until we regard their neurosis, addiction, and proclivity for unreality as a real problem, this will only get worse. Pulling on this string will drag several much harder problems along with it, such as equitable access to mental health care.