HN is rigged - downvotes are half fake and explicitly target comments critical of the oligarchy.

Also generally anything critical of capitalism, imperialism, or the military-industrial complex. It doesn't really matter whether it's a measured analysis or shrill shrieking; literally just using any of those words amounts to soliciting downvotes.

This is true but I don't think the downvotes are "fake" though. There's just a whole lot of people who truly believe they are Making the World a Better Place Through Capitalism

I'm more cynical - I think that breed is mostly extinct, and the current batch is downvoting/flagging because they don't want the sentiment to spread.

It’s far, far too late to contain this sentiment.

Maybe this is just a symptom of my screen addiction, but I keep a close eye on this site for a lot of the day. I’ve noticed a pattern where my commments initially get one or two upvotes (within the first 5-10 minutes of posting) but will then immediately get a greater than or equal amount of downvotes very quickly. It happens consistently enough that I’ve noticed a pattern. The upvotes happen sporadically and the downvotes happen simultaneously.

and this comment is grey at the time of me upvoting it, ironic