IMO it's not about that. Reddit's ongoing tumult is due to them wanting to have their cake and eat it too. If you want to host the ugly, you have every right to do so. But, if you aren't clear about your intentions, then you are going to be caught in contradictions. Reddit clearly was ok with hosting the ugly for quite some time, but they never seemed comfortable with that service spilling into their mainstream brand. Every time it did, they reacted. Note they now say that they are supporting 'authentic' conversations. If they started with that appoach, many current subreddits probably wouldn't have ever been established. That would mean less tumult, but also less users. IMO that is why their moves look so cynical.
Yup, this is my problem with reddit. Says one thing and does another. And they pretty much just react based on news/articles/advertising, rather than supporting the idea that made everyone use and like it in the first place. It's one thing to explicitly ban something from the get go, making it clear it isn't tolerated. It's another to just up and ban a collection of established communities after a knee-jerk reaction to news.
Yep, they're spewing PR-bullshit and doing whatever they think will make more money for them, principles be damned.