I don’t just mean outrage or regular rage, I mean shock that someone was to the left of “legal weed and free college but only for those that operate a successful business for 3 years in a disadvantaged community” 
takes.
I think federating took them by surprise, looking back. For about a week, those smug liberals were at a loss to even fathom what Hexbears were saying, and could only chant bullshit about how we’re Russian/Chinese bots.
Sure they still do that but they’ve slightly adapted to Hexbear presence.
That’s very similar to my experience albeit I was always a little further left than progressive liberalism. I just lacked the theory and vocabulary to articulate my politics. Ironically it was first breadtube, then chapo (the podcast), and finally the subreddit that helped galvanize my preexisting communist leanings.