At first it was all about presenting data in an original looking way. In the end it was about pushing political ideas in your throat using a plain bar graph. It was not about sharing something interesting you found but about taking advantage of a captive audience.
I agree that r/dataisbeautiful turned out to be very political. What I saw was that the community was rather united in its political stance and if someone made a post that was out of line with the community’s ideology they got roasted. The reaction was rarely about how the information could have been portrayed more intuitively, or how the data could have been stronger. Those reactions were for posts that were in line. Others were downright attacked. It certainly wasn’t about making data beautiful
A common sight in hyperpoliticized world.