An example of how inauthentic social media can be. LBC is a major news outlet in the UK, and they posted a video with the title "Ex-MI6 Spy insists Epstein was a Russian spy and blackmailing Trump". The actual video, though, was an LBC presenter interviewing UK Housing Secretary Steve Reed about an urban regeneration program. Literally nothing to do with Epstein or Russia anywhere in the video, save for the presenter asking about the appointments of a UK politician exposed in the files at the end. Every single comment, though? Deflecting from Russia towards Israel.
To be clear I do not doubt Israel's involvement. I think it's silly to argue that other countries can't also be involved, but that too is besides the point. My point is more how clearly absolutely none of these comments are from a person that watched the video. The unfortunate reality is that real people do engage with these comments, despite the reputation that youtube comments deservedly have, and they will have no idea that said comments have been flooded by inauthentic activity well before any humans got there.
I'm not surprised, but I don't think I've ever stumbled across quite such a blatant example before
The original video has been taken down now and Wayback doesn’t seem to have caught it, but here is the link in case anyone knows something they can do with that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY4bBbwndQc
Isn't it pretty much established fact at this point that a large proportion of comments online are now from bots? Maybe this explanation isn't 'banal' but that doesn't make it farther from the edge of occam's razor than the other options you're proposing.
Maybe people are upset at an obviously phony title and description. The fact that the video doesn't exist just makes it that much more phony.
The real video does exist, LBC just uploaded the wrong one. They corrected it in a matter of hours. Here's the actual one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYRVezF5-hk
The interview with the housing secretary was also re-uploaded with the correct title and description