I have the same humidifier that the author does and I largely disagree with her points. It is rather ineffective at humidifying larger rooms (e.g. for the ~350 sq. ft. room I have it in, it humidifies the room +10% above what it otherwise would've been at aka 23% => 33% per my hygrometer), but it's certainly better than nothing. I usually have to refill the tank 3 times/day which is by definition a testament to how much it humidifies my apt's air.

However, I agree that the Wirecutter's recommendations are suspect sometimes; mostly for the more expensive items that cost several hundred dollars for a "quality" item [0]. However for the smaller/cheaper things where it's exceptionally hard to stand out in a crowded field of products (e.g. routers, bath towels, basic kitchen equipment, home tool kits, etc.), the Wirecutter is a good way to narrow down the choices.

[0]: e.g. they recommend a $370 (at the time of publication) 27", 1440p monitor; for that price the monitor should be 4K https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-27-inch-moni...