I thought "radical honesty" sounded silly. And turning the argument into an attack on the speaker wasn't kosher either.
But I also thought "quite unethical" was a bit silly (though I didn't downvote anyone). Perhaps people didn't like the tone. Also there could be a language issue with the degree implied by the word "quite". In stark black and white terms, it is unethical, yes, as a lie of omission. If there are shades of gray, it is not on the extreme to get lucky and have heard a question before.
I have also noticed there is a contingent of commenters who seem to view stories in terms of the victimized workers versus the evil corporations, and punish people who appear to take the wrong side. Probably a similar bunch shows up when the argument is about students versus teachers. Not necessarily a universal lack of ethics.
If you want to change things, the first step is to recognize the problem lies to those with power, like your manager, who lied their way to the top, not to a fellow employee trying to get a job. Being honest to liars and manipulators to earn enough of their pity to hire you did not suddenly become the peak of morality. The bottom of society is responsible for their unhappiness because they have not risen to end it, not because they have not licked enough boots.
This reminds me of another time on HN someone told a story about how they'd cheated in a hi-tech way in an exam and a dozen comments supported them, not one person suggesting it might be wrong...until me, then I got virulently attacked for doing so. At least there their comment got [dead]ed.
I just wanted to say - you're not alone, that also seems very dodgy to me. Moments like this HN is very disappointing.