DailyTech has just published the results of its investigation into payola at hardware review websites. The article is the product of a three-month effort in which DailyTech employees posed as marketing representatives for faux hardware companies and sought articles and awards in exchange for advertising money:

There are approximately 150 circulated English-print technology websites; our team specifically targeted the 35 largest publications. We determined the size of these publications via Alexa's online index and publication-supplied web statistics. DailyTech was included among this list. Of 35 online computer-related publications, 23 (66 percent) refused editorial influence in exchange for advertising. Of remaining 12, seven publications (20 percent, Fig. 1) agreed to editorial service in exchange for advertising or cash. To the credit of all publications surveyed, no website would accept additional funds in exchange for award. However, it should be noted that our team discovered several instances of questionable ethics in a very short time span, without even supplying the publications product or payout.