I see this kind of moralizing as the last gasp of a dying business model. If a business can't convince people to pay for its product based on the merits, they try to shame customers into doing so by appealing to some supposed moral responsibility.

Let's be real. Most people won't pay for content on the Internet because most content on the Internet is worthless. Its primary purpose is to waste time while procrastinating on doing something more important.

Content that has an actual use - market research data, a well-written book explaining how to use a new technology, etc. - has no trouble finding customers who will pay for it. The rest has to rely on advertising. Since most ads have negative value to readers by actively obstructing the content they're trying to view or in extreme cases loading malicious software onto users' computers, they get blocked.

If publishers want readers to view ads, the ads have to provide some sort of value. It's not like a billboard where you can put it somewhere that people can't help but see it.