What's easier for a dev: inserting a few lines of code, or getting access to the production server, setting up letsencrypt (or getting a budget approval for the $10/year certificate)?
Code is rarely the same as "inserting a few lines of code" though. They presumably had to think about how to work around the problem, look for an appropriate font, etc. All for the purpose of hiding a symptom of an underlying problem.
Yes, exactly - there's a framework in place, which allows for the bullchit. :/