That's a silly conclusion to those events. HN basically has a policy of flagging anything involving politics, including things much less controversial than israel/palestine.
>>bawolf+(OP)
> HN basically has a policy of flagging anything involving politics, including things much less controversial than Israel/palestine
This does not preclude the effective operation of an astroturfing operation. I would be absolutely shocked if the site were not a target of such a campaign given its reputed influence.
>>bawolf+(OP)
I don't see any Ask HNs on @sigma5's profile. I don't know if flagged or dead posts show up in the profile, but I guess I figured they did (especially if you have showdead on, like I do). It would be a different story if the post were somehow removed entirely, not just downvoted or made dead.