Episode
#112 Affiliate Networks Drop Honey: What Really Happened | Ben Edelman & Tye DeGrange
- Podcast
- Always Be Testing
- Published
- Jan 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1730
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/304e0f27
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Summary
In this emergency episode of Always Be Testing, I’m joined by Ben Edelman—an economist, lawyer, and one of the most respected affiliate fraud investigators in the industry. Ben has spent over two decades uncovering adware abuse, browser extension misconduct, and attribution fraud, working with merchants, networks, and publishers to protect the integrity of affiliate marketing. We break down what actually happened with the Honey browser extension, why multiple affiliate networks removed it, and why this case is fundamentally different from past controversies. Ben explains how affiliate attribution is supposed to work, how “stand down” rules came to exist, and how Honey allegedly bypassed those rules by intentionally concealing violations from testers and networks. We also discuss the real impact on content publishers, review sites, and the broader ecosystem—and why concealment, not just rule-breaking, changes the legal and ethical stakes. This episode is a deep, technical, but essential conversation for anyone who cares about transparency, trust, and accountability in partner marketing.