"Off-meta isn't inting"

In case you didn't know:

If you pick the weakest champion for a role they're intended to play, it's off-meta and not against the rules. (Ex. Nidalee jungle)

If you pick a champion that is not intended or balanced for the role you've been assigned, it's trolling (punished as intentional feeding). (Ex. Ornn mid)

Something like jungle Ekko does not fall into the latter category because Riot's balance team has recognized their approval of it, and it has a reasonable success rate.

The issue isn't that off-meta is being punished, it's that people trolling don't know what off-meta means.

These are the facts. This is how Riot rules regarding such cases. Your downvote doesn't change that.

It's similar to their stance on hate speech reports, where you can't prove or disprove that there was any actual hate--so the only evidence they can base the punishment on is the presence of the word.

You can't say you weren't inting after the fact if you did poorly as a troll pick. Making an effort to win starts in champion select, not later. If all they have to go on is the fact you went AP Gnar mid and fed, they have no choice but to conclude that it was intentional feeding.