I'd disagree. Real, honest reviews are genuinely useful to me as a consumer particularly if the review outlines what type of person the reviewer is, too.
If the reviewer is consumer reports they for years were this independent reviews. (I've heard accusations they are no longer as independent - make your own decisions) They often don't know enough about the product to understand why long term the more expensive one might be better as opposed to just overpriced, so not perfect, but still better than buying everything yourself.
they have been doing this for decades. they fund themselves by selling a print magazine and paid online access. their reputation is so good that products that get good test results often use the result in their ads or print it on their packaging.