And of course those criticisms can and should be dismissed if the creators goals are purely to maximize engagement
The goal of purely maximizing engagement should itself be dismissed.
You can dismiss criticisms of theft if you look at the goals of the thiefs
Lying, grifting, and promoting conspiracies online also maximizes engagement and drives revenue. I guess we should go ahead and do that too.
This whole conversation makes me want to throw up
No that _is_ the criticism