WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.000 Picture this. It's the year 2022. You 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:10.240 just posted an honest review about a product and then over the next few 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:14.240 weeks, your video gets taken down. You get constantly harassed by bots and then 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:18.880 on top of that, the company that made the product threatens to sue you. Sounds 00:00:16.880 --> 00:00:23.519 pretty unbelievable and dystopian, right? Yep, sure does. And for 00:00:21.279 --> 00:00:29.519 HouseFresh, a small independent review site dedicated to testing air purifiers, 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:31.519 it's a reality right now. Within a month 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:36.320 of their video review of the Puro Air 240 being posted, they got an anonymous 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:41.920 tip that their review had been put forward as evidence in a pending lawsuit 00:00:39.040 --> 00:00:46.879 against Puro Air. Shortly afterward, YouTube pulled down their video and a 00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:52.000 legal letter hit their inbox requesting that HouseFresh amends their earlier 00:00:49.680 --> 00:00:56.640 written review threatening that failing to do so would result in HouseFresh 00:00:54.079 --> 00:01:00.559 being taken to court for defamation. Right around this same time, House 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:04.400 posted an outstanding article that we actually discussed on the WAN Show 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:09.760 explaining how Google is killing independent sites like theirs. So, what 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:14.400 is going on here and who is to blame? Is it YouTube for attacking whistleblowers? 00:01:12.240 --> 00:01:18.560 Does Piro Air have any legal ground to stand on here? It turns out that this 00:01:16.240 --> 00:01:22.880 rabbit hole is a deep one, including lucrative affiliate deals, Google's 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:27.520 algorithm being abused to suppress real reviews, and even a big Chinese company 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:32.799 that is attempting to prevent shipments of Puroair's units that has led our two 00:01:30.320 --> 00:01:37.119 players here into a big misunderstanding because we reached out to Pure for 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:41.600 comment. And oh boy, did that raise way more questions than answers. So, it's 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:46.479 time to strap in and dig deep. And who better to help me than there he is, 00:01:43.759 --> 00:01:50.560 Danny from HouseFresh. These guys might face more legal complaints for being 00:01:48.320 --> 00:01:54.399 here. Sorry about that. But they agreed to travel all the way here and share 00:01:52.399 --> 00:01:57.840 their story to help educate consumers and hopefully give other independent 00:01:56.320 --> 00:02:03.600 reviewers the benefit of their experience fighting this battle. But 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:06.880 first, I need to battle this segue to 00:02:03.600 --> 00:02:08.560 our sponsor. I'll get you segue forum. 00:02:06.880 --> 00:02:12.160 Make a statement with their unique rings that contain materials like meteorite 00:02:10.239 --> 00:02:17.720 and ethically sourced antlers. Click our link in the description and use code LTT 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.720 for 20% off. 00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:31.280 HouseFresh originally took an interest in the Pure Air240 because the brand 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:36.239 that made it appeared out of seemingly nowhere and yet somehow it was one of 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:41.040 the best selling air purifiers on Amazon in 2023. Their review of it was pretty 00:02:39.200 --> 00:02:46.080 normal. They discussed that while the product seemed to work fine, it was an 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:50.879 awful value when it was sold at $220 because as it turned out, you could find 00:02:48.720 --> 00:02:57.200 some pretty similar looking devices on Alibaba for around 35 bucks. Well, 4 00:02:54.480 --> 00:03:01.680 days later, perhaps coincidentally, their video got bombarded with dislikes 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:05.840 and comments that appeared to originate from Russia, a country that had rarely 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.280 shown up on their analytics in the past. When we saw the traffic from Russia, we 00:03:07.760 --> 00:03:13.280 didn't really understand why because we always publish our reviews in English. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:17.760 And the down votes just didn't stop. Every day it was 10 down votes. 10 down 00:03:15.519 --> 00:03:21.840 votes. And it just carried on. The next development was the anonymous tip that 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:27.200 House Fresh's review had been put forward as evidence in a class action 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:29.280 lawsuit against Puroair in California. 00:03:27.200 --> 00:03:35.040 That was followed 2 days later by the removal of their video from YouTube for 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:36.799 quote counterfeit policy violation. And 00:03:35.040 --> 00:03:42.159 then three days after that, they received an email from Puroair's lawyers 00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:46.640 requesting that HouseFresh amends or remove statements from their written 00:03:44.239 --> 00:03:51.440 review. When HouseFresh failed to amend the review, high five, by the way, 00:03:49.040 --> 00:03:56.159 Piroair's lawyers sent them a pre-action protocol letter, which is the first step 00:03:53.519 --> 00:04:00.799 toward filing a defamation suit. Almost immediately, things went from bad to 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:06.159 worse. One week after they responded to Pureaware, HouseFresh received a DMCA 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:10.239 removal notice and Google preemptively pulled their written review from their 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:16.160 index. What that means is even if you went out of your way to search Puroair 00:04:12.640 --> 00:04:17.759 240 househ, it would not show up in your 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:21.680 search results. When we first saw that DMCA notice, that's when we started to 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.000 worry because YouTube is meant to be our plan B after our site was decimated in 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:29.680 Google search. So, the DMCA rules mean that anyone can make a complaint to 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:34.880 Google and if it matches the automated system, the page is taken out of the 00:04:31.840 --> 00:04:36.639 search and you have to make an appeal to 00:04:34.880 --> 00:04:39.680 have a human look at it, but it takes at least a couple of days for someone to 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:44.479 look at it. Because the system is automated, you can actually hire people 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:48.000 for less than $10 to get any page removed. Our critical review couldn't be 00:04:46.400 --> 00:04:52.560 found in Google anymore, and this was a battle we were already dealing with in 00:04:49.520 --> 00:04:54.800 the SEO competition. Obviously, that's a 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:59.199 lot to digest and it raises so many questions. Who the heck is Pureaware and 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:02.720 why did Google take the video down and then shadowban a perfectly normal 00:05:01.280 --> 00:05:08.800 product review? Let's start with the first part. Pureware and their 240 unit, 00:05:06.080 --> 00:05:14.080 which I happen to have right here with me. But since I personally know very 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:21.600 little about what makes an air purifier good or bad, Danny will be helping me. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:23.600 Oh, he brought the very similar one that 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:28.080 can be purchased factory direct from China. So, oh, we're each going to tear 00:05:25.919 --> 00:05:33.360 down one of these with a focus on their differences and uh maybe more 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:39.520 importantly their uh similarities. Step one, hold on, hold on. Step one. 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:43.360 Oh. Oh, no. I think Pure's got a case here, man. That's a completely different 00:05:41.440 --> 00:05:46.800 sized outer carton. Breathe with confidence. 99.99% 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:50.720 efficiency. See, I bet you don't have that. I don't have anything. Look at that. You got none here. I'll fix that 00:05:49.039 --> 00:05:55.360 for you. Here, hold on. I got you. I got you. 00:05:52.880 --> 00:06:00.160 Problems brand air purifier. It's got 99. Fun fact, by the way, this HEPA 14, 00:05:58.479 --> 00:06:04.479 that's removed from their website and the Amazon listing. Oh, really? But the 00:06:02.320 --> 00:06:08.319 99.99% that's still there? I think that's still there. Oh, okay. Wow. 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:12.080 That's That's 50%. They get 99.99% 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:15.919 50% of the time. This is something I jumped on a call and chatted with 00:06:13.440 --> 00:06:20.319 Puroair about both the verification of the HEPA 14 claim, but also why they 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:26.880 removed it from their website. They mentioned that they were actually battling lawsuits and FTC claims done by 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:31.280 a very dominant Chinese competitor, one that often challenges several of Piro's 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:35.039 claims. And because of these claims, they found that from a marketing 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:40.560 perspective, they saw no real benefit from fighting a possibly expensive case 00:06:38.080 --> 00:06:45.039 for a term that didn't seem to impact their sales. It kind of does call into 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:48.560 question if they were even using HEPA 14 filters in the first place since all 00:06:46.880 --> 00:06:52.880 they should need to do is show their certification for any filter that uses 00:06:50.960 --> 00:06:57.600 it. But we kind of know how well the legal system works. So, and it might 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:01.520 seem weird that I add this note here, but I'll be back later to explain a bit 00:06:59.599 --> 00:07:05.840 more about why this Chinese competitor actually plays a much bigger role in 00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:11.280 this than you might think. Well, you've got BKJ23A 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:13.440 and I got BKJ 23A the second. Oh, well, 00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:18.479 that's completely different than But I'm sure I have stuff that you don't. Look, 00:07:15.039 --> 00:07:20.639 I get $15 off HEPA 14 filters, not to 00:07:18.479 --> 00:07:23.840 mention a 2-year limited warranty and user manual. Yeah, I don't have Yeah. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:28.960 What do you get? You get nothing. Yeah, you really did though. Get absolutely no 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:32.720 manual or anything. No, sadly not. No, no, nothing. So, the Chinese factory 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:37.039 just assumes you're smart enough to figure it out. Oh, I've got some Chinese 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:42.400 words. Oh, yeah. On the bag. Well, that's that says uh do not put over your 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:45.280 head and try to breathe. Oh, wait. Hey, look at that. Yeah, that's totally 00:07:43.599 --> 00:07:49.840 different. Mine's black. Yeah, this is white. And mine has the perforations at 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:54.960 the bottom and yours has them at the top. No, it's just upside down. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:58.720 I can see why you guys thought it might be similar. Oh, well, mine has a sticker 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:03.599 here. Tip it over. I want to I want to have a look here. I want to have a look here. Okay, so we've got a little 00:08:01.039 --> 00:08:07.280 honeycomb thing like the sensor. And this is really interesting. There's a 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:12.000 little bit of a flaw in the mold where the plastic flows around these holes. 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:16.240 And you can actually see that it's the same on both of these units. So, not 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:21.680 only is the design extraordinarily similar, they clearly come out of the 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:24.319 exact same mold. And there would be no 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:28.560 reason for two factories to shoot plastics into the same mold, allegedly. 00:08:27.039 --> 00:08:33.279 Thank you. Now we're looking at the bottom. See any similarities? 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:39.360 Yeah, it seems like the Yeah, the same design basically and the same foot like 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:42.880 the little feet. Ah, yes. You say that, 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:45.040 but can yours do this? 00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:49.200 Right. Okay. Well, okay. So, they are both packaged in plastic. Yeah. so that 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:53.680 they don't get used in the fac like in the warehouse. But tell me this, Danny, 00:08:51.680 --> 00:08:59.600 if that is your real name. Sounds made up to me. Does yours say pioware on it? 00:08:56.720 --> 00:09:04.720 No. No. Nothing. Huh. Otherwise, it looks the same, doesn't it? I just found 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:09.680 a difference. This piece right here uses a different mold on these two units. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:14.080 Wait, no, it probably doesn't. It's probably a large mold that they shoot 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:18.640 plastic into and it makes multiple pieces. So it would be a one in two or a 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:21.600 one in three or a one in four chance of getting the exact same piece. So yeah, 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:25.440 that doesn't prove anything. So we should have bought eight then. Yeah, we should have bought even more. Wait, how 00:09:23.680 --> 00:09:30.959 many of these did we buy? You can talk to accounting. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:33.040 Oh, this has an open unauthorized seal. 00:09:30.959 --> 00:09:36.480 No guarantee. Yeah. So one of the things they probably don't want you to see is 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:40.640 that in their original marketing they said they asked scientists from MIT and 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:44.320 Harvard to design it. Oh, so they don't want us to get their technology 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:47.920 potentially. Well, I would like to see their technology. Where's my screwdriver 00:09:46.160 --> 00:09:51.040 at? These molds are slightly different, too. Actually, we've got the P13. I 00:09:49.920 --> 00:09:58.399 don't know if that this one hasn't got it written on it. And this one has like a bit of texture there. I'm getting very 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:00.560 curious about why they clearly use the 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:05.040 exact same molds for some parts and why they use different molds for others. 00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:09.200 These ones use the exact same mold. I'm looking for little imperfections. Like 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:13.279 there's a little blemish right here and that blemish is on this one, too. So, 00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:18.240 these are the exact same mold, but these ones are not bizarre. Actually, here's a 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.000 theory. This is an early version of the handle for our Noctua edition 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:26.880 screwdriver. And you can see there's kind of some swirls. So, when you add 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:30.480 dye to the plastics, even if you're using the same plastic, it can change 00:10:28.880 --> 00:10:35.279 the flow characteristics of it a little bit. And also, different colors will 00:10:32.959 --> 00:10:38.399 show these kinds of lines more or less than others. Microsoft discovered this 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:41.760 the hard way when they released a white version of the Xbox Series X. They 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:45.839 actually had to completely redesign the mold in order to do that because the 00:10:43.920 --> 00:10:50.240 black version hid them, but the white version was covered in little whirls and 00:10:47.839 --> 00:10:53.440 little marks. Anyway, my point is that could be a reason why they would use a 00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:58.240 different mold for some parts on one versus the other, depending on how it 00:10:55.600 --> 00:11:02.320 flows. With that said, they don't seem to care that much about their mold 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:06.079 quality anyway. So, allegedly, okay, now that's going to tell us a lot once Danny 00:11:04.160 --> 00:11:12.160 catches up to me here and makes his way to this control PCB. Oh my goodness. How 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:16.720 many screws does this take? Ah. Oh my god. It really does look the same, 00:11:13.920 --> 00:11:20.640 doesn't it? So, I'm clear. These guys got mad at you for saying that this and 00:11:18.640 --> 00:11:26.160 this are seem to be the same thing. Yeah. Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. I 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:30.000 mean, they're the same thing down to the like off-kilter mounting of this 00:11:27.839 --> 00:11:35.519 resistor. Okay. But these are going to be totally different. 20 BJ 238. 00:11:33.920 --> 00:11:39.279 Mhm. Yeah. Oh, no. That is different. Mine has a totally different QC date. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:44.000 Yeah. QC is different. So, actually, I don't even know if that's a date. What 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:45.519 What date code would 66 be? Evil one. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:51.839 Well, there's only one reasonable conclusion. After Piroair did all of 00:11:47.839 --> 00:11:53.839 that MIT research, this Chinese factory 00:11:51.839 --> 00:11:57.519 copied them. That's probably why we got a video removed. Then, seriously, 00:11:56.160 --> 00:12:00.720 obviously, this is not how you guys would test an air purifier, right? Just 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:05.200 like ripping it apart immediately. So, how do you test them and make sure that 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:08.240 this is HEA or not HEPA or activated charcoal or, you know, whatever? How do 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:13.200 you tell if it's good? Well, the main thing is just using it. So, we fill our 00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:16.959 test room in our home with incense smoke. We fill it up for 30 minutes and 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:21.839 then we track it with a purple air sensor that tracks the level of PM1, 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:23.440 2.5, and 10 and then see how quickly it 00:12:21.839 --> 00:12:29.040 takes to to remove it because that's the main reason why you would get an air purifier to see how quick it can remove 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:34.320 these tiny particles from the air. Right. So, it's like a dehippifier 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:38.240 sort of device for your space. Yeah, I suppose. So, sure. Right. And that is 00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:43.200 definitely the kind of review that you would want to see when you Google pure 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:45.760 rare 240 reviews. So why did Google pull 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:49.600 it? So it might look like there's loads and loads of websites, but it's actually 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:53.200 16 companies that dominate the vast majority of search terms that people 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:57.279 search for. That's why you see the same images and even the same recommendations 00:12:55.200 --> 00:13:01.440 from different publications owned by the same company. And HouseFresh has more on 00:12:59.680 --> 00:13:05.120 their hands these days than just the legal battle with Pureaware. They're 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:09.200 also fighting a search engine battle. Even before their review was removed 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:13.519 from Google's index, they discovered that search terms like best air 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:19.120 purifier, which used to drive significant traffic to their site, just 00:13:15.760 --> 00:13:21.279 bring up garbage top 10 air purifiers 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:27.120 articles now. And these are often written by people or AIs that have never 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:31.760 tested or even touched the products that they're recommending. Oh, fun fact, by 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:37.519 the way. I got bamboozled into buying incompatible windshield wiper blades for 00:13:33.839 --> 00:13:39.839 my car by just such a list. But Lionus, 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:44.399 you should have known better, right? Well, not necessarily. See, many of the 00:13:42.800 --> 00:13:49.360 publishing companies behind these listicles will go out and acquire 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:53.920 trusted websites, ones that Google favors over lesserk known sites. Then 00:13:51.920 --> 00:13:59.279 they'll immediately make cuts to expensive things like, you know, product 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:04.399 testing and writers. And then they'll use that brand and profit off of it 00:14:01.760 --> 00:14:09.680 until it becomes worthless. Then they move on to the next one. Wait, profit? 00:14:06.959 --> 00:14:13.040 Profit? How? Well, these listical sites have affiliate links, the exact same 00:14:11.839 --> 00:14:18.480 kind that you would find in the description of our videos. In fact, there's one there right now. You click 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:24.720 our link to private internet access, sign up for a VPN that will mask all of 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:26.079 your uh Linux ISO downloads, and LT gets 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:30.320 a commission. Well, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But how a 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:34.720 website goes about it can dramatically impact the user experience. On 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:39.199 HouseFresh's page, for instance, they give their honest review, which might 00:14:37.199 --> 00:14:43.440 include a recommendation, but often doesn't, and they say, "Hey, if having 00:14:41.920 --> 00:14:47.760 heard all of that, you still want to buy it. Here's the link." Well, if you've 00:14:45.760 --> 00:14:51.920 ever scrolled through a top 10 listicle, you'll know it goes more like this. Buy 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:55.920 this, please. Buy this one. Buy this, guys. Use my link. These pushy sales 00:14:53.839 --> 00:14:59.519 tactics are just the tip of the iceberg, though. According to Househresh, 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:04.880 commissions in the air purifier category are generally around 3%. But in 00:15:02.079 --> 00:15:11.120 Puroair's case, they are much higher. How high are they? Wait 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:15.760 percent. If I was an unscrupulous AI listical mill, I would be very 00:15:13.040 --> 00:15:21.199 interested in percent commission on a $230 product. But come on, minus. You 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:25.519 might say, people are going to see that high price and just buy something else 00:15:23.920 --> 00:15:30.320 on the list, right? Well, you'd think that, but what if everyone was 00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:35.199 complicit? What if every item in the damn listicle was selected purely to 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:39.279 maximize commission rather than to maximize air purity? Now, you see the 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:44.399 problem. And you've got to consider the category of product, too. People who are 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:48.000 passionate about blenders, for instance, might immediately know that some random 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:53.199 brand isn't worth it when they can just get a Vitamix at Costco for 400 bucks. 00:15:50.880 --> 00:15:59.680 But like, who's passionate about air purifiers? me. 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:04.800 Exactly. So, by strategically selling products in low passion categories, 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:09.839 these brands can mostly stay under the radar of enthusiasts and reviewers and 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:15.040 their high prices can actually create a perception of value for the uninformed 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:20.560 consumer. Then they leverage that perceived brand value and they discount 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:26.399 it creating a perception of savings and a sense of urgency to buy. That is the 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:30.720 playbook that Puriair used to rocket to number one on Amazon. Lucrative 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:34.160 affiliate deals drive recommendations which drive profits which drive 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:39.360 affiliate deals and money printing machine go. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:43.519 And while yes, it's easy to shame Pure Air since this is the company that has 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:47.360 sued a reviewer. But they are far from the only company that might try these 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:50.800 tactics in order to climb up the rankings ladder. And there's also 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:55.360 nothing inherently wrong with using an offshore factory in order to manufacture 00:16:53.120 --> 00:17:00.000 a product for the western market. But using the markup that you make as a way 00:16:57.920 --> 00:17:05.760 to leverage your position in the review space, that is not okay. Now you've got 00:17:02.880 --> 00:17:10.559 the full picture. Pureaware buys cheap products, sells them at a big markup, 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:15.199 and then leverages their cash to go after negative reviewers with fake 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:19.120 counterfeiting complaints. Luckily, HouseFresh had insurance that helped to 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:22.480 cover some of their legal fees, but they aren't out of the woods yet. Just when 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:26.240 they thought this saga was over, they received notice that their insurance 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:31.280 provider will not renew their coverage if they continue doing reviews. Well, 00:17:29.360 --> 00:17:34.880 continue doing they're a reviewer. So, what does that mean? Because this is now 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:38.559 deemed high- risk, our insurance company won't provide us coverage. But we're not 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:43.679 going to stop doing reviews because I think it's important that there's independent voices like ours telling 00:17:41.600 --> 00:17:48.720 consumers what works and what doesn't. The good news is there's no legal active 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:52.799 case for the Puro Air240 review, but we're still talking to our lawyers just 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:58.000 in case, which is great. But the thing to remember here is that Purawware and 00:17:55.039 --> 00:18:03.600 HouseFresh are just small players in a much bigger game. This impacts everyone. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:07.440 Even if HouseFresh can get insurance, what can they do about bot brigading or 00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:12.320 video takedowns? It's no secret that YouTube's copyright system has been open 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:14.240 for abuse for years. And in many cases, 00:18:12.320 --> 00:18:20.080 it takes more time and resources to fight these things than it ends up being 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:22.400 worth, unless you just really care about 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:26.400 air purification. Since we want to continue reviewing air purifiers, we 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:31.360 wanted to review the larger Puro Air 400. But when we sent over questions 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:35.760 that we had, we received an email from their lawyers. Really? 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:40.880 After everything that happened, HouseFresh still contacted Pureawware 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:45.280 about their new device, as they should. And Pureware, apparently, having learned 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:50.240 nothing, basically threatened them again, saying, "Stop with your fixation 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:54.400 with Puro Air." Oh, did we reach out to Pureware for this? Yes. Oh, and we're 00:18:52.960 --> 00:19:00.880 currently in talks with them. We are in talks. What does that even mean? I'll give an update now. After I jumped on a 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:04.559 call with two higherups, including the CEO at Pureware, I don't necessarily 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:08.400 think that they are the devil in disguise or anything. It's clear that 00:19:06.320 --> 00:19:12.240 they just found a way to play the system and gain some ground. But I think many 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:15.600 people would do the same thing if they could. But why does it seem like they 00:19:13.919 --> 00:19:20.640 have such a chip on their shoulder for HouseFresh? Well, you remember how I mentioned a Chinese competitor earlier? 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:24.160 It turns out that Purer has been battling a company called Lavoy, a 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:28.880 company that makes a variety of home products, including air purifiers. Lavoy 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:34.480 has opened court cases, FTC investigations, and even managed to hold 00:19:31.280 --> 00:19:36.240 cargo shipments at ports against Pureair 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:40.640 in order to prevent them from entering the Western market. And from Pure's 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:45.600 perspective, the timing of Dany's negative review about the 240 unit, 00:19:43.120 --> 00:19:50.400 along with HouseFresh's positive reviews of some Lavoy units made them suspicious 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:54.799 that Houserfresh is simply just another attack vector. Puro Air still seems 00:19:53.039 --> 00:20:00.160 convinced that Houserfresh is in bed with Lavoy. So, we asked Danny to clear 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:05.600 the air and he said, quote, "We have as much of a relationship with Lavoy as we 00:20:02.320 --> 00:20:08.160 do with Winx, Coway, Smart Air, Xiai, 00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:12.640 Dyson, and many other brands. We have even asked Pure Air to present proof of 00:20:10.320 --> 00:20:16.960 this in multiple legal communications, and they never did because there is no 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:21.360 proof. It would be like saying that LT is funded by NVIDIA because we reviewed 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:25.760 their graphics cards." Ouch. Danny must read our subreddit. Anyways, none of 00:20:23.679 --> 00:20:28.960 that changes the fact that they tried to sue a reviewer. It doesn't matter if 00:20:27.679 --> 00:20:33.760 they think it was an attack from a bigger player. And while we never found 00:20:31.360 --> 00:20:38.640 solid evidence about who sent the bot brigades and even the DMCA takedown, 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:42.559 that is also not okay for any company to do or abuse. And I think there's some 00:20:40.320 --> 00:20:48.080 learnables for YouTube here as well. Any system where you can hire someone as 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:50.559 cheap as 10 bucks to take down a video 00:20:48.080 --> 00:20:54.400 is a broken system. So, what's the conclusion here then? Well, the good 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:57.760 news is that there is a happy ending to the Househresh story, which we're going 00:20:55.600 --> 00:21:02.880 to get into in a bit. But the bad news is that this whole listical affiliate 00:20:59.760 --> 00:21:05.200 thing is still 100% a problem. And the 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:09.760 only solution to it is slow, painstaking, one person at a time 00:21:07.760 --> 00:21:14.159 education. So, if you have someone in your life that you know trusts these 00:21:11.760 --> 00:21:19.440 listical websites, grab a share link to this timestamp to help them identify a 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:24.720 real review versus a clickbait list. Step one. Hey, it's okay to use these 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:29.039 listicles, especially for inspiration, but you should always search up the 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:33.360 individual model numbers somewhere else before you buy, like on Reddit or on 00:21:31.520 --> 00:21:38.000 YouTube. Also, you're going to want to read or watch more than one review. 00:21:36.320 --> 00:21:42.240 Ideally, more than five. Because the thing is, user reviews can be 00:21:39.840 --> 00:21:46.559 manipulated, and media reviews can be manipulated, but it takes a pretty 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:51.360 well-coordinated effort to manipulate everything and bury every negative take 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:55.360 on your product. Step two, look at how hard they're shilling. This might sound 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:58.559 obvious, but if they're pushing the purchase button in front of you before 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:01.440 you've even had a chance to read a single word about the product, maybe 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:05.760 it's time to find someone else who looked into it. A great way to know if 00:22:03.840 --> 00:22:10.000 someone has really put in the work is to see if they took their own photos or 00:22:07.840 --> 00:22:14.799 collected their own comparative data rather than just listing manufacturer 00:22:11.840 --> 00:22:20.159 specs. Finally, step three, do a quick sanity check on who wrote the article. 00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:22.240 If it's someone, ideally a real person, 00:22:20.159 --> 00:22:26.000 who has built a career on consumer trust and verified testing, I can almost 00:22:24.320 --> 00:22:30.559 guarantee you that they'll do a better job than some anonymous entity on a 00:22:28.320 --> 00:22:36.240 website that reviews everything on planet Earth. So, the happy ending for 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:37.600 Houser Rush, then it seems like for now 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:42.240 they're out of the woods. We're going to have their channel and their Patreon linked down below, by the way, so you 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:46.159 guys can go and support them. Thanks for listening to us. And if you want to find 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:50.880 out more about HouseFresh, you can now use Google to find us. No one, no matter 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:54.960 how big or how small, should be allowed to be shoved around for speaking the 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:59.679 truth if they're putting in the work to back it up. But what I will shove you 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:03.919 into is the segue to our sponsor, Thorum. In just a week or so, it'll 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:07.440 officially be summer, and that means weddings galore. As you can imagine, 00:23:05.679 --> 00:23:10.799 rings are a hot commodity around this time. So why settle for a plain old band 00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:15.039 when you can get something extra special? Thorum makes unique rings from 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:19.200 exotic materials like World War II rifle stocks, whiskey barrels, and even 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:23.360 genuine meteorite. Each ring comes with a free silicone activity band and an 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:27.039 American walnut wood ring box. 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