I find that sort of comment to be extremely counterproductive, because it's totally off the original topic and it seems to be the result of searching for some link to controversy and then pouncing on whatever's found.

I don't really like clicking on the comments for an article about the economics of a chess tournament to find somebody whining about a prize for women players that isn't even mentioned in that article. It's just uncouth. Even if such prizes are a bad idea, there's not worth derailing the conversation, and it's rude to track down some nitpicky complaint to jump on.