Wait, so every time someone posted a referly link to HN that seemed spammy, it's because it was spammy? That is, they were artificially constructed and there was money riding on that post getting upvoted?
The majority of HN submissions that were to a referly link were from the founders, I assume the sort-of spammy nature is something they're afforded permission to engage in because they're a part of YC.
Although, I've usually seen those types articles flagged off the front page, so it self-corrects. I don't think there's a bias in favor of YC founders.
There's another YC startup whose founders are more blatant, but their spammy posts are flagged even faster.
