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I think you’re looking too far into this. Does Windscribe have a conflict of interest here? Objectively, yes: Information which is bad for Proton VPN is good for them.

Does that imply their information is incorrect or misleading? No, and I really don’t think OP meant to imply that. OP is just being responsible - it is always more honest to disclose a conflict of interest than to not, even when the information given is objectively verifiable, as it is here (I did do the same incognito test as in OP’s video and it did in fact do exactly the same price swapping for me).

All OP is doing in noting the CoI is being responsible. Knowing a conflict of interest exists doesn’t imply the information is unreliable or even misleading, but it does mean you should be a bit more objective or skeptical than you otherwise might be - that you should go the extra mile to check the information, like checking the code the post talks about or running the incognito test from the video. Or, especially, about any subjective opinions mixed into the facts - like speculations about motives or intentionality, or how “bad” certain facts may be.

And I think that’s especially relevant when talking about companies like Proton or Mozilla, which are often the target of (mostly, not always) undeserved criticism and mistrust on this site.

My own take here is: Yes, the post is objectively accurate. They are clearly doing A/B testing on different discount rates for their VPN Plus plan. And yes the PetersonProton post on reddit is inaccurate, and calling this unintended or accidental is objectively false based on the evidence in OP’s post. And after looking him up, he’s basically the highest ranking employee in the Proton VPN division, so he definitely should have known better. But I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. A/B testing prices at random isn’t inherently bad or deceptive - the only story here is that Peterson either lied about it or was grossly misinformed about his own product, neither of which is a great look. But neither of them say to me that Proton itself is a bad company, especially considering all the genuine good they’ve done overall.

Also just to avoid being a hypocrite: My own conflict of interest is that I use ProtonMail as a free user as my primary (but not only) email provider, and use Proton Authenticator too, though I’m potentially looking to switch away from that one. I don’t use any other Proton products, including Proton VPN, though I used and abandoned Standard Notes in the past. I also believe that the general vitriol toward Proton regarding their CEO is largely a gigantic overreaction that often relies on making incredibly disingenuous or misinformed accusations - like I think there’s exactly 0 basis to consider the company Trump- or MAGA-aligned.

I read this whole thread thinking I was on /c/TheOnion, not /c/NotTheOnion, and thought the joke just went over your head.

Wow, it’s really not the Onion. What a headline. I gave the article a brief skim and it seems to be sarcasm-free.