Please don't break the site guidelines like this. The boring null hypothesis—that people simply have different backgrounds and views on a large internet forum—is more than enough to explain what goes on in these threads. Cheaply labelling others "bots" because you have a different background and view from them is poison to community and therefore not allowed here.
As the guidelines say, if you're worried about abuse, you should be emailing us so we can look into it.
Here are hundreds of past explanations going back many years:
It's normal for HN comments to get downvoted when they tediously repeat flamewar talking points which everyone has heard many times. This is not a site for nationalistic flamewar, ideological flamewar, or any other flamewar. Downvotes are an inevitable and appropriate response. The idea that it must be spies, foreign agents, bots, shills, astroturfers, or who knows what else is a fantasy people invent for themselves, no doubt because it's dramatic and gives one the frisson of being up against baddies. It's as puerile as it is repetitive.
Bottom line: the evidence could not be clearer, no matter how strongly internet warriors feel urges to project sinister fantasies onto their tribal enemies. That's against the site guidelines for good reason, well established over many years, so please stop.
> Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.
FWIW I would encourage you to use the above email as a lot of comments do seem greyed out for no reason.
Absolutely -- there seems to be tons of real people very eager to equate criticism of the CCP to 'China bad!' and this is part of the problem. The CCP (like all major governments in history) has / is / will do things that are worthy of pushback and scrutiny. Please stop cheapening the debate by attempting to reframe critique of a major government's policies as nationalistic prejudice.
Americans are gone. Anti-China sentiment is at a boiling point and I really no longer see objective reporting or discussions. It's infuriating that the US is able to manufacture consent so efficiently.
The reality is more depressing than imagining some central command manufactured this consent. It is just an emerging phenomenon to appease the audiences.
I don't imagine some central command – I understand Gramsci's concept of cultural hegemony and Marx's base/superstructure dialectic. The American people are completely bought into the imperial line, but they still need to be oriented, thus the massive increase in anti-China rhetoric from State Dept affiliated media outlets.
how can anyone consider west Taiwan government as "Good"... we should ways fight against evil governments and companies that defend them just to have access to slave labour. American companies fighting the US government not to ban slave labour...NIKE
It's in French, the top translates to "Sponsored - Media controlled by the state of China". Though, maybe they are not that careful with their budget as they should have had French/Arabic translations.
