I'm nearly certain this is all intentional, to consolidate as many users as they can under the official app. Huffman is in on it, and will be "fired" by the board shortly after which will appease many users with the drama, though the decision won't be reversed. They will then bring in some Wall Street CEO to flaunt the new metrics and possibly even reach profitability with the ad revenue from users in the official app.

Redditors have the memory of a goldfish and most will have forgotten about it a few weeks later.