I agree that it's bad optics, but personally I think it sounds shway. If we're gonna live in a dystopian future where we have to evade omnipresent government surveillance using illegal* code, it might as well sound like something out of an '80s sci-fi novel or a '90s anime. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
*Currently illegal in some jurisdictions, more coming soon!
That's why news and public service actors with global ambitions launching onion services is likely a huge net gain in the long run.