do you mean by state actors? i feel like hexbear is too low impact for that personally. (letting disgruntled people who use the site in bad faith into positions of power, that i do think has happened.)

tbh i think it's mostly underlying contradictions and negative tendencies in the site culture/administration that have always been there, but came to a head in the last year or so. admins have always seen themselves as Vanguard of Posts (rather than what they should be, which is peacekeepers of a chill, cozy community whose focus and culture should be directed by the users). my impression is that that undercurrent kind of erupted after a year or two of relative peace & chill vibes.