Great questions.

> Sounds like the company in the latter example really screwed up

Interesting. I think they made an unfortunate but sound decision based on their circumstances.

> but how does that connect to disclaimers?

It doesn’t directly.

> Is it just an example of malicious behavior?

Yes. It’s an example of how absolutely bat-shit crazy people can behave in ways that can tax a company’s legal team. Having folks use a disclaimer will almost certainly lighten some of this load in terms of defending against folks who weaponize online comments made by employees.