[ChuckMcM]

I agree with you, but the problem is economics. Simple A/B testing, with one of these link syndicators adds 35 to 45 cents RPM as opposed to pages without link syndicators.

So you are in the back office and you are looking at the choice of "leaving" thousands of dollars a day on the table (for high traffic sites) or providing a better user experience for the fraction of people who care, but aren't willing to pay a subscription / paywall fee.

You pick the syndicators and assume that if your "readers" really care enough they will install an AdBlocker. For a publisher it can be the difference between being viable and not being viable.