That was actually true. Jobs was paid in stock options, perks (including a Gulfstream V jet), and the increasing value of the Apple stock he got in the NeXT acquisition, but no salary.
I'm not saying it wasn't true. I'm saying it was an empty gesture that was meant to meant to pacify the media and was successful in doing so.
I don't anyone had any misconceptions about his compensation. $1 salaries are quite common, and at different times, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, and many more have done it: