This is true. There were in fact people voicing their suspicion that Theranos was all a crock of shit in the very first discussions on Theranos on HN.
Warning signs were there. People were voicing specific technical concerns, as well as less specific concerns over the technical expertise of those involved. For the most part, these critics were brushed off. HN's voting system did not promote their comments; rather it promoted the apologetics.
Random thought: maybe "gratuitous positivity" is as damaging as "gratuitous negativity" and should be treated the same way. Only seems fair, doesn't it?
Warning signs were there. People were voicing specific technical concerns, as well as less specific concerns over the technical expertise of those involved. For the most part, these critics were brushed off. HN's voting system did not promote their comments; rather it promoted the apologetics.