Paying a recommender buys their reach and spends their trust: once the group knows it was paid, the word stops counting.

The claim

Paying someone to recommend you buys their reach and spends their trust. A recommendation carries weight in a group because the group believes it was made in the group's interest; once the group learns it was paid for, the recommender's word is discounted, and their value to you goes with it. Fame measures how many people will hear an endorser, not whether that audience shares the cause, so endorsements bought on recognition raise awareness, not trust.