I think clickbait gets clicks, but doesn't build favorable sentiment or interest. I think this is true for the general public as well.
To this end it might make sense for a company/website paid based on click through engagement, but you will notice that most of those institutions are generally despised by the public.
I don't think being annoyed by clickbait is unique to nerds or such a sophisticated concept that the General Public can't comprehend it.
It's not like when NASA comes up for Budget approval being known as the agency that creates shitty clickbait articles will help them. In fact, I think it is exactly the kind of brand that they wouldn't want to build
At a minimum, there are tradeoffs involved.