Although I disagree with this kind of law:

Was it just linking? Or was it providing a useful summary that essentially renders no need to click the provided link? + the link

Otherwise I can see why Google and Meta got the law, while Reddit, Apple news and others don't.

Reddit and Apple News will have the law applied to them as well, since the law doesn't include a list of sites affected, just the criteria under which affected sites fall.

So when google said 2 companies it was also as disingenuous as when they said "only linking"

It’s just linking

I doubt that's just "don't mention a competitor" (though that was likely a factor too). Saying "two" is an important point to emphasize: if this was a national law written to target just two companies, saying so makes the sentiment clear. And on top of that, I have the impression that Meta/Facebook has much lower public approval than Google.