Really, it was the headlines of Google’s AI Overview pulling Reddit shitposts that inspired the return. If Reddit is going to sell its data to Google, then, you know, maybe flood the zone with sludge?
Since Google has a deal with Reddit I’m sure they have a whitelist or blacklist for subreddits. There’s no way /r/shittyaskscience is given the same weight, if any, as /r/askscience despite the responses being of similar structure.