Hate clicks and hate traffic have pretty much always been a thing. You can see it pretty much anywhere you go. Silicon Valley platforms deliberately exploited this through algorithms designed to maximize engagement through hate and other negative emotional turmoil. Like a never ending car crash you can't look away from, so people would always be trapped for extended periods of time looking at stuff that made them miserable.

Very profitable for those platforms.

Another thing is people like to vent and be upset about shit, given their unfulfilling lives. It's just in this case, that energy is being funneled into bad faith engagement and counterproductive practices (misinformation).