The news feed of a Hacker News frequenter is very atypical. You likely have more friends in the tech industry, and thus you're likely to see posts on this story.
Your comment calls into question the anecdotal evidence used to dismiss a claim made with no evidence whatsoever.
I have a similar anecdote, but mine does not match the mitigating circumstance you ventured.
Regardless, even a less-than-credible personal account clears the bar of required evidence to dismiss the above claim, since that requirement is currently zero.