The latter (and if I were the CEO of that company, I probably would give the guy a new laptop, especially if the posts resulted in an influx of customers)
I think of myself as tending toward the cynical but this goes even farther than I would. Is there any reasoning behind that belief or just general cynicism? (for example is Dom somehow involved in marketing or advertising?)
Does the service have a replacement guarantee or are you implying that this was a brand deal and he's being paid for the posts?