Seems like at a glance that website if it sees a referral from ycombinator, it redirects to that image.... In a private window it loads the 'intended' page.....
Just blackholing the request would be kinder than taking it out on the person following the link, given that their gripe seems to be more with the one who posted it (and that as a deterrent, it doesn't seem to be particularly effective given that it's been years since the first time I've seen this conversation play out in comments)