The only possible "abuse" is the one that goes against rules laid out by the platform. As the guidelines for flagging were changed, I recognize no abuse at the moment.
This is not to suggest there can't still be "harmful" behaviours, even if it isn't objectively "abuse" according to platform TOS.
there are no rules laid out by the platform. Steemit is not steem.
I think you agree? The combination of Steem and Steemit was what I labeled the platform in this case. There were rules for flagging on Steemit, but they have now been widened to include any possible reason and since they are not called rules... there are no longer any rules and the "flag" can hardly be called a flag anymore. - It is once again a downvote.
What should happen now, is that we remove the "flag" icon and replace it with a "downvote" button, "thumbs down" or similar.