I think that one of the greatest aspects of social media sites such as youtube, in particular the trending section, is that it allows creative amateur video makers to reach millions of people across the world. Therefore, I love it when a big company tries to manipulate this type of media for profit/ratings and it backfires spectacularly as shown here; (see comments section)
This sort of manipulation, in one form or another is slowly becoming more common, especially within youtube. The comments section for commercially sponsored channels such as the X Factor have been blocked so as not to influence public opinion, damage t.v ratings and affect the outcome of the show (personally I think the show is a pile of superficial s*** and is fixed from the start). I've also seen a number of other similar videos in which the highest rated comments are suspiciously positive to say the least. I don't see why youtube feels obligated to protect the interests of channels like this by blocking comments, regardless of how much they have paid. People should not be manipulated into thinking a certain way and should be allowed to voice their own opinion. Rant over