[austin-cheney]

Its not automatic due to bot activity. It is from people actively suppressing stories that don't want other people to see.

This is discernible by watching how long it takes stories like these to reach a flagged state on the new submissions page. It is further evident by watching which comments within those submissions get flagged based upon their upvotes and visibility.

[themafia]

> on the new submissions page

What if they only act once it reaches the front page?

[Guid_NewGuid]

Indeed, and try suggesting there should be minimal accountability for flagging[0] and you'll likewise be flagged. Sure maybe the data says there's not some cartel flagging conspiracy but it starts to seem awful suspicious that even reasonable discussion of this misfeature gets flagged.

0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44962005

[deaux]

> Its not automatic due to bot activity. It is from people actively suppressing stories that don't want other people to see.

Correct! The same people behind the US purchase of TikTok, for the same reason.

[troosevelt]

You're attributing a whole lot of agency to things that might have different factors.

I can't downvote becuase though I've read HN since 2007ish, this is a new account. I would, however, probably downvote threads like this becuase out of all 600 comments, I don't think very many people have learned anything and a lot of blatantly false and sometimes racist stuff has been shared by people of every persuasion. I don't think these discussions are productive at all, but it makes people feel good because they're "fighting" for a cause, but they're still just a rate in a cage.

Is the cause of Gaza or Israel bettered by this comment section?

[austin-cheney]

These discussions are absolutely necessary because it’s the best we have to stay informed. If accuracy and credibility were more important we would have foreign journalists there on the ground providing factual information.

So, yes, Gaza is bettered by comments like these.

[deaux]

> Is the cause of Gaza or Israel bettered by this comment section?

Absolutely the cause of Gaza has been bettered by the thousands of comment sections. Again, the US wouldn't have bought TikTok if it didn't.

r/thedonald boosted the cause of Trumpism, posters on X have boosted the cause of extreme right wing nationalism in Europe. Discourse matters, that's why so many try to influence it. Reputation with the masses matters, that's why countries like KSA spend hundreds of billions on trying to shore it up.