I think there is more to it than that. HN also has a bias for depth and correctness (relative to most social media garbage; or even uncurated newspapers). This

I think there is more to it than that. HN also has a bias for depth and correctness (relative to most social media garbage; or even uncurated newspapers). This applies to the quality of article that make it to the front page, but I see it much more starkly in the comments. Sure, we get low quality comments, but it is not out of place to see someone with direct experience in the field come to post about some of the subtleties; or for someone to dig up the primary source (research paper, bill text, etc), and point out details directly from the text that the article misrepresented; or for someone to bring in additional research on a subject.