LG playing dirty with reviewers

[robfosters]

HU just uploaded a video about how LG are trying to direct them on editorial direction, and even worse, offering them money to do it.

Why would LG risk doing this? Their monitors are excellent anyway, they don’t need to bribe people for good reviews. What with the recent Nvidia and HU fiasco too, these companies really are starting to show their dirty tricks and don’t even seem to care any more about them being outed. Awful situation.

 

[robfosters]

TL;DR

LG noticed, since production, their monitors don’t perform as well as previous 1ms IPS monitors, found in the GL850, as an example, and have therefore tried to coerce HWU into either:

• Altering their review and testing the 32GP850 in situations which are favourable for the monitor, compensating them in the process
• Putting a block on the review.

With the aim of keeping sales on target and interest high.

What’s your opinion of this behaviour?

 

[robfosters]

I don’t know enough about it to form an opinion.

LG CSS we’re open enough to explain it comes from fear of losing customers, at least - that’s a very real scenario for companies.

Could they have handled it better? Absolutely, but the language barrier won’t have helped, nor cultural differences. And as someone who works with people from multiple cultures, there are definitely some differences.


All I will say is that we need to be less black and white about this, and more “shades of grey”, in that we shouldn’t see LG as a bad company for just one bad thing, just like they wouldn’t be good for doing a singular good thing. I.e. less of the cancel culture

Give them the opportunity to apologise, and better understand their situation.

Perhaps they would have been better off to not release a half arsed product and spent more time getting it right, rather than selling a poor improvement and pay the reviewers to lie about how good it is.

 

[robfosters]

I wondered why the 32GP850 review wasn't live yet, after such a glowing review of the 27" model.

At this point LG will probably blacklist HU anyhow, so I'm not sure why they don't make their second review live?

I don’t think they will blacklist them, that would be a blatant admission of guilt.

They’ll find some way to apologise like Nvidia did. It makes no sense blacklisting them anyway, HU have enough financial clout to just buy new hardware that’s not supplied to them.