it does work though, on windows i can see ads and intrusive crap all the time. Linux distros don't bother you at all, it's like linux is not even trying at this point.
Ubuntu used to do ads pretty well, even before microsoft got better at them,
haven't used that distro in a while, so can't confirm if that's the case still, but you might want to check it out.
I'm going to argue that it's very unlikely any of those people are friends or colleagues. It didn't ask if you recommend Windows on social media or forums.