Obviously just damage control but they do seem to be "fixing it". They must've accidentally implemented a feature to get and show image from the newest news post (which is often an ad), accidentally tested and vetted that feature, and accidentally pushed it.
Ah yes it's always a bug after massive community backlash. If there wasn't much, it'd have been a test, and if there wasn't any, it was always intended.
yes sure it could've been a bug, but can we really believe them that it was?
companies are on a quest to pollute our lives with ads, it's not a stretch to think it's bullshit when another attempt to do that is being denied with "whoopsie the new guy wrote the code wrong nothing to worry about here!"