The moment Joe got paid, he became controlled op. He has a natural desire to just not think too deeply about anything and simply dig into the truth - but often that means he ends up really touching on it.

Then, after the fact, he gets back lash. In the past, he would only back pedal enough to keep a wide enough audience of open minded people. After he got paid? He back pedals to make sure the corporate overlords don't do anything too drastic to his pocket book.