Yes they knew because when Anna was speaking she was hesitating and choosing her words and it was tense.
I believe that they knew as well. The cold shower controversy has been mildly discussed in the past. These two are the King and Queen of including small controversial bits in order to bring in activity. Jofus has publicly said (I can't remember where, I think it was an interview) that he considers the drama to be entertainment as well. Along the lines of reality shows creating drama to gain exposure. He's entertaining all of the "fans".
Anna definitely knew that was a controversial topic, but they must have needed an income boost for the month. They've been content using that angle for years. They're "sorry" about it now because people with a status that they actually respect are noticing, and they likely have child protection advocates on their ass.
These new apologetic tweets and IG posts are
bleeping insulting, to us, his children, and the influencers that he silenced, because none of it was an oversight. They're horrible manipulators. All income that they receive from social media platforms needs to be taken away. It should be illegal to profit from B.S. like this. That needs to change, and somebody needs to do the right thing for those kids.