The downvote button will 'lower the pending rewards' for a post or comment. If the current pending rewards on a post are 17.21, and a minnow downvotes the post, it's rewards may go down to 17.19, while if a whale downvotes the post it may go down to 8.01. In strictly technical terms, the downvote button is meant for honest rewards-adjustment that helps Hive.

But, like any tool, human beings often find ways to abuse it, such as downvoting out of spite, malice, or hate, in order to hurt the rewards, earnings, or reputation of others.

Because there's a lot of human emotion involved, people often feel quite strongly on the subject of downvotes, but ultimately you'll have to come to your own conclusions about it.

I hope this helps! 🙏