I think that's technically true, although the stockholders don't necessary want to see "hate" as they think of it. They want to see growing engagement, and hate does engage.
Facebook had this same issue -- pissing users off with echo-chamber news articles was very engaging. But because Zuckerberg has control, he was able to make a decision to move away from those addictive feelings of rage. It's bad in the short-term for Facebook, but will be good in the long-term.
I think that's technically true, although the stockholders don't necessary want to see "hate" as they think of it. They want to see growing engagement, and hate does engage.
Facebook had this same issue -- pissing users off with echo-chamber news articles was very engaging. But because Zuckerberg has control, he was able to make a decision to move away from those addictive feelings of rage. It's bad in the short-term for Facebook, but will be good in the long-term.
Hate may sell, but if it drives users off your platform then it doesn’t matter how much engagement you have.