[pnongrata]

> I imagine it also helps the platform hide and demote content that is ideological unfavourable or competitive to the platform.

I'd say it also helps the platform hide a potential fake users problem. For instance, you can no longer see the low engagement on users' posts who paid for followers.

[ajxs]

That's exactly what I mean. It would allow for a more organic looking promotion of paid content. If you were able to see all engagement metrics, you may wonder why your favorite off-beat content, with much higher engagement is de-prioritized in favor of content with much lower levels of engagement.