Well the thing is nowadays news needs to make a profit, and these days ‘profit’ for public-facing companies and organisations = social media presence (specifically getting ‘viral’ posts/videos etc.). But the only way it can gain a social media presence is by keeping people reading/watching/liking/commenting. Since opinions (especially controversial ones) get the most reactions, they naturally follow that kind of content to the nth degree. Hence the success of obviously dubious yet successful ‘alternative news’ sources like Infowars, and late night topical comedy shows like Jimmy Kimmel or Have I Got News For You. They’re a way of getting the news but in an emotionally charged way, be that positive or negative, which makes you want to engage with the content again either because you agree or because you want to laugh/shout in disagreement.