Hacker News Reader

Comment by nubg | Hacker News Reader

Why is this getting downvoted?

My money is that influence campaigns are active on HN and try to mold the discourse. The whole internet is manipulated to hell, and HN is a prime target, you have a bunch of smart people that probably have oversized influence, how could you NOT try manipulating this place?

This is most certainly happening. A lot of US-critical articles also get flagged to death, even when they have a lot of upvotes and healthy, civilized discussion.

Yes to manipulation.

But also it asserts factually a lot that isn't true, which is why I downvoted.

Mostly an US audience here. A deeply divided country on politics. The wording doesn't help matters either.

It's unfortunate the same division tactics the US has been facing are working elsewhere too, however.

Mostly an US audience here.

I don't think mostly is true? Obviously it depends a lot on the time of day, but there are also a lot of Europeans on the site. Also, most comments here seem to be critical towards current US policy. So, I think there is quite a lot of manipulation going on, since the downvoting/flagging does not really match the comment section.

I think it's true. There is a significant audience here from other areas but this being an english language forum and one focused on tech means that the US is always going to have a dominant presence[1]. The US dominance also means that the news is highly focused on US events when it wanders out of tech which further reinforced the audience.

1. I believe Canada does have an outsized presence though!

From dang themselves: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16633521

So, 32-56% US, so not mostly US.

Because it makes people uncomfortable.

It's hysteria in the addictive, viral, breathless, and self-indulgent social media flavor that permeates everything.

The excitement being blown out of proportion is hyperlocal. The system grinds on.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com