[shandor]

This same phenomenon seems to happen often. My go-to explanation is that the "serious middle ground" you mentioned is actually using the new tools doing some actual work, just a little more efficiently, without much fuss.

That usually does not make it into the headlines, and doesn't "drive engagement metrics" or whatever, so it also isn't in the interest of the news to push that middle ground narrative, and so we get the ridiculous polarization.