[_jn]

That can happen when the votes all occur in short succession.

[dmix]

And it won't last very long at all unless someone else boosts it.

[amoorthy]

Fascinating. Are you certain of this or is this conjecture? Feels like this could be exploited if true.

Maybe it's more sophisticated like votes must be from people with high karma points?

[Fuzzwah]

It can definitely be gamed. I always used to notice links to the nautilus science site would instantly get 6 or so upvotes. While pondering this was when I realised they were YC backed, and stopped wondering if they'd get called out on it....