I wholly agree that it's unethical to charge $thousands for a product that costs pennies to make. And yet, that appears to be the business model becoming more and more common, or at least more unapologetically blatant.
Healthcare, for example; insulin and epipens as the poster children. Gouging in post-pandemic grocery and consumer staples prices. The ballooning of C-suite compensation in service industries, while wages for those doing the service regress with inflation.
Journalists may be dropping the ball, but they have to keep their "engagement" numbers up, too. They may be dropping the ball because exploring ethical lapses may feel like headlining "water is wet!"
"If Meta wants…" My concern is that the only conceivable motivation Meta could have for investing money in such a project is making more money. If, in the process, Meta destroys the eco-structure of the Fediverse, so much the better—less competition, more money for them.