[dang]

It fell in rank because it was flagged by users.

There's a penalty on youtube.com stories by default, but we turned it off in this case because the allegation seemed prima facie interesting enough to let the community have a crack at it. Of course, it's highly politically charged and we normally don't want that stuff on the front page. But there was an intellectual-curiosity element to it as well.

That said, the community has had a crack at it, in votes, comments and flags, and the flags won. I don't see a reason to override that.

(By the way, it's on our list to display [flagged] on cases like the current story when the flags are this powerful. Hopefully that would have answered your question.)

[Houshalter]

Sad that a small minority of users can manipulate HN's front page to suit their political biases. This post is certainly more interesting and important than everything else on the front page.

Flags should be used for stuff that actually violates rules. Not a "disagree button".

[dang]

It's a bit of a strange example to make this claim about, since the argument that that post broke HN's rules is pretty easy.

The balance between upvotes and flags (and moderation) on HN is pretty stable; it's been this way for years. It doesn't always produce what I think is the most interesting and important result, either. Probably true for most readers if not everyone.

[Houshalter]

What rule? That it's political? But it's not really. It's not about any specific candidate or policy, but whether Google censors search results.

"Hillary Clinton is a jerk" would be a political article.

"Google removes 'Hillary Clinton is a jerk' from search results" is not.

>The balance between upvotes and flags (and moderation) on HN is pretty stable

By what metric do you measure stability?

[MichaelGG]

The video isn't that strong, really. I'd love for Google to make such huge mistake, and even think the hint of impropriety here is almost good for the public: to trust Google/SV less. But it's really not HN quality.

I'm sure if someone did a more comprehensive article on what autocomplete filters, along with how this might introduce bias even if fairly solid, HN wouldn't flag it. It could be political if it's comprehensive and clear. (Perhaps research why "Mein Kampf" shows up when searching images of Trump's book.) Even an expose on how SV money affects government should be fine. (I think it was on HN I heard about Google coordinating with the US to destabilize some place, maybe Libya?)

Dang is being excellent here, allowing the community to decide.

Honestly the only thing is the opaqueness of the flagging process. I was just caught by surprise after reloading a tab. On its merits it's just a weak video.

[makufiru]

Sorry! I didn't know. I just saw it and thought it would be interesting to hear HN's opinion on what was happening. Won't happen again.

[MichaelGG]

Thanks for making HN such a great place!