Yep, by extension it now means "hatred", in certain contexts. I'm aware of it, but on the other hand I like the alchemical connections of the name.
BTW, I view this project as a tool that anyone could use to publish content in a distributed way. There arw no political or social intentions behind it.
Something that allows users to post anonymously, circumvents moderation and takedown requests, and is called vitriol will make a lot of people think it is designed to promote hate speech.