Several years ago (I want to say 10 but it may have been slightly more) I regularly wrote for a couple of reputable consumer review sites in the UK. (now defunct). Much like Medium there was some level of curation (in the form of bonuses for quality reviews) and the integrity of most members kept the site honest. It didn't pay amazing but it was fun and always at the top of review searches. It sounds like that market has been absorbed by garbage vendors sadly. I do wonder who reads these hastily written, if somewhat factually accurate blogs that the content mills fill up. You took this assignment seriously, congrats for toughing that out, it sounds demoralizing and frustrating.