I agree with the argument that two examples are not exactly a pattern, but I am not basing my opinion on just those.

It may be that I have become too cynical lately, but if some court cases taught us recently, it is that popular fora of all kinds are a battleground of sorts and everyone there is either an FBI agent, a shill or a dog.

For the record, the moment you used word populist makes me question whether you have an axe to grind yourself ( ie. UE establishment is not that happy about Poland and Hungary breaking ranks), but I digress..

This how bad it is. HN is pretty decent moderation-wise and I still keep my guard up.

>Every corrupt populist administration maybe

Well the US has been openly doing it for nearly a decade. Care to reconsider your point of view?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Earnest_Voice

Everyone who has enough resources to pay for this kind of PR services - that would be correct. I used to work for an ad company which provided "artificial opinions" to a bunch of clients, including a charity for disabled people for example.