I'd say the changes aren't responsible for the "hate and anger", but the growth and natural drift of users.
Undermoderated websites gradually radicalize as the heat and rage drives away moderates. 4chan is the extreme example of this, but Reddit's culture slowly lumbers in the same direction.
That would apply if Reddit were any kind of unmoderated. Most of the communities showing up on the front page have a litany of exacting requirements for content, and sometimes, stuff winds up deleted anyways.
For the posts? Yes. But for the commentary? Only a handful of subs moderate the commentary to any real level - usually ones created in reaction to the ugly nature of their minimally-moderated counterparts. /r/science and /r/canadapolitics are examples of heavily-moderated subs that specifically try to avoid the terrible level of discourse that Reddit is famous for.
