I can tell you that I have a Gemini plus subscription I still don't have anything more recent than 3.6 Flash. In consequence, I never use Gemini anymore, and instead have a PAYG plan on Deep Infra.
So, no, it is not astroturfing.
That plan doesn't even exist, so there's still definitely something not aligned here.
That plan doesn't even exist, so there's still definitely something not aligned here.