What counts as "money"?
I think the answer is "a lot of reviewers don’t take advertiser money." This is not a field to get rich in.
I think that reviewers have a spotty record for trustworthiness for a different reason -- they like to start trends and follow trends. That gets them attention. It’s an attention economy, not a bribe-taking scam.
But most audiophiles know that good sound does not come from trends but from patient, methodical, and often non-consumerist solutions to acoustic puzzles. The best speaker makers may not be the best advertised, expensive fuses may not be the way to correct a bad system, and used gear may be the fastest way to the mountaintop. None of that makes for trendy content.
One way around the trendy approach is the be the "maverick" dude who "tells it like it is." We all know that guy with his "truth to power schtick." Sometimes he IS telling the truth but the point is always hammered in, relentlessly: "Only I tell you the truth. Others are out to scam you. I’m on your side." (Sounds like a politician.) But then, guess what? He has his own gear to sell you, so now that you’ve realized he’s the only one you can trust, you have a supplier to whom you can pledge fealty. Now that’s some grade-A flimflammery.
There are a bunch of other reviewers who seem, to me, to really be doing honest work. Steve Stone, Hans Beekhuyzen, Tarun, and a few others.