I wouldn't say well known, but it is reasonable to assume that some entities would have interest in swaying the HN community enough to put some effort into it.

I wouldn't say well known, but it is reasonable to assume that some entities would have interest in swaying the HN community enough to put some effort into it. Yesterday for example the thread "Show HN: Twingate – A modern solution for remote access"[1] showed some signs of astroturfing as pointed out in the comment by crmrc114. Possibly as a form of advertising. Response was very quick as I have usually seen though. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23326755 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23326755