As noted in the article, Facebook has changed its News Feed algorithm to prioritize content from friends and family over publishers. This combined with their stated goal to increase moderation of all content should reduce perceived toxicity and increase relevancy. That's the theory at least, though like you I have yet to see it borne out in practice.
I've seen no evidence of this having been done.
I noticed a big drop in shared memes in late January, though they have inched back up when I looked today.