So, I had a chance to review the other thread and the posts here... I'm glad to have had this exchange, and it was helpful for me and I hope it will be for others.
I wondered if I was overly harsh in reacting on the other thread when I called it misinformation, but as I review it I really don't think so... on the other thread a dire warning was cast against the Anderson hitch even though that was not what was being discussed at the time. No other dire warnings were cast against any other products, even though there is information about hitch failures on some of those models that were discussed, if one looks to find such.
And, as to the examples presented of failures, I don't suggest these were doctored photos or deliberate misinformation (which is more correctly called "disinformation"). However, I used the word "misinformation" intentionally... misinformation does not mean someone has intentionally deceived, but it can mean that the information is not complete, potentially resulting in an inaccurate conclusion. In the case of the examples presented on this thread, the information is not complete. For example, there is no mention of investigations arising from these incidents nor information about the manufacturers response. Further, there is no information on whether they were installed incorrectly, or whether other recommendations were not followed or what the cause of the failures were.
If any of the incidents presented have had a formal investigation and a report from such, that would be very helpful. Otherwise it's like showing pictures of a particular model of a vehicle with something like bent axles and saying there is a safety issue on that model that everyone needs to be warned about... but that's not how the industry works. Unless and until there is a formal investigation and follow-up reports, the auto industry, regulatory bodies and the insurance industry all treat mechanical failures on vehicles as "accidents".
Now, if investigations have been done and do reveal there are safety issues with the AUH, I would definitely want to know. So if these do exist, I would hope that the OP can find them and present them here. Without such investigations, the above failures of the AUH are by definition "accidents". And, in my opinion "accidents" don't warrant unsolicited dire warnings, thus I stand by my original post in calling that out as misinformation.
Be and let be... each one needs to research carefully and make their own choices.
As always on forums, YMMV... and I'm pretty sure on this matter that some of us will end up agreeing to disagree...
B