Major review site caught selling placement in 'best deals'

Has anyone else noticed the "best deals" list on that big review site looks... weird?

Ive been tracking prices for my little shop and three hosts that were at the bottom in january are now top 5. Same plans, same prices. I emailed them asking about methodology and got a copypaste about "algorithmic updates."

Then I check who has the biggest affiliate banners on their homepage and guess what

Am I being paranoid or is this actually a thing? I dont want to accuse anyone wrongly but my budget is tight and I need to trust these rankings.