alt Hacker NewsWell, one good reason is that a person who generally doesn't "swear" can then choose to use them very effectively when the situation warrants. If you always go to strongest words when mild ones will do, you're out of things to say when you need to make a stronger/more forceful point.
And there is nothing better to use for the headline than a minced oath if you explicitly don't want to swear? Make it make sense.