RE:"Either the tech doesn't work and management is lying..."Very weak arguments. I would not characterize management as lying but there are a number of published statements that had not materialized as one would have reasonably expected them to. Taht's a fact, those are management quotes because it is only the CEO that can really know what is going on, yet what he said, did not turn out that way. I give the benefit of the doubt and say that he mispoke by putting the cart before the horse and not being humble enough to realize that he is not inside the clients' boardrooms and he only knows what he is told. Bad judgment in the way things were communicated, but that is not unusual for CEO's promoting their companies.
To your point:
1) NRs - you can look into the past and find forward-looking statements that did not materialize. Poor argument.
2) Participation in conferences - conference organizers don't vouch for the participants' materials. If you can pay the conference fee....
3) Paid promotional reviews and messages being factually accurate and give you all the full disclosure of the good and the bad? You almost cost me a new keyboard by having to clean it up from the coffee I just about spat.
4) Patents? Who cares! Patents mean nothing without making money off of them.
The one thing, and the most important thing, that you forgot to put on the list is SALES. If the stuff works and the market needs it, it sells. Sure, a lot of stuff is still in developmental stages so the jury is out on the commercialization potential (i.e. stuff can work, but it may not be an economically viable solution, there may be enough competitive substitutes, etc.)
In summary: "Either the tech doesn't work and management is lying" is a very narrow minded simplistic conclusion.