React itself was never a framework, just a library to render user interfaces. Routing, data fetching etc. have always been separate libraries (or built into frameworks).
developers often want those things, but they are certainly not required.
i certainly don’t use a react data fetching library, i just use fetch. i don’t use special react state management, just use redux. i did build a router that works primarily with React in order to support JSX in the components, but it wouldn't be any harder to adapt it to another framework or setup.
the problem is exactly the same as those memes making fun of people asking on stack overflow "how do i add two numbers with jQuery?" eg 'how do we add two numbers with React'
the problem is there are always new developers making silly mistakes, and making that an indictment of some technology is a fallacy.
