That's probably true but I don't see how it's any different from companies paying TikTok influenzas to manipulate the kids into buying certain products, the Chinese government paying bot farms to turn Wikipedia articles into (not always very) subtle propaganda, SEO companies manipulating search results, etc. Advertisers and political actors have always been a shady bunch and now they have a new weapon in their arsenal. That's all, isn't it?
I'm left with the impression that people on and off Hackernews just like drama and gloomy predictions about the future.