The internet pre-2008 (which generally consisted of people you could deem "more intelligent") had some misinformation on it but it was easily identifiable, and most people simply didn't click on it. In 2008, there was a boom in internet population from facebook; putting misinformation on the internet was now not only easier to breed, but had become profitable.

Google, which follows a 'rank and yank' corporate philosophy (where employees are evaluated based on how useful/valuable they are to the company, and in some cases are terminated as a result of their performance), realized the position it was in, and decided to exploit it. Microsoft did the same with Windows 8.
Rather than risk losing foothold as the dominant company in their particular domain, they attempted to permanently establish their position.