Was it voluntarily, or was it the fraudsters polluting the news channels (such as this site) with their horseshit as a result/part of the hype they built around itself?

For sure. The whole "yet you participate in society" [1] retort doesn't impress me. Is my participation in society, in my profession, in my industry voluntary? In the sense that I have chosen not to fuck off to a remote cabin and live via backbreaking subsistence agriculture, sure. But I don't think I should have to cede my life, both professional and intellectual, every time fraudsters come around.

[1] https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/we-should-improve-society-som...

> I have spent years having to endure the horseshit from places like Theranos

You can just not read the articles. Your sense of mistreatment seems out of proportion.