Ask HN: Is HN killing threads about the Chinese abuses in Xinjuang?

15 points by TurkishPoptart ↗ HN
I've run a few searches for threads on the NYT's commentary and translation on the CCP leaks, but it seems like the mods are removing them. Are they in violation of HN policy?

12 comments

[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 21.2 ms ] thread
Don’t want to upset China, a large marketplace and potential investor.
HN moderation has nothing to do with that.
I have been tracking a few and commented on one. It does not seem like they are being removed.

Sadly, it just seems that no one is commenting on them. Perhaps people are burnt out on talking about related issues or this is a chilling effect of moderation on previous related issues.

It is a shame that this is not getting more attention, I see the actions of the CCP as the biggest threat to western values globally.

The thread you posted recently is still alive: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21560871

HN Guidelines [1] generally discourage stories about politics, but this one seems interesting enough that it would qualify as something that "gratifies one's intellectual curiosity".

Your post would have probably gotten more attention if you would have submitted the original NY Times story rather than a link to a Reddit discussion. (You might still be able to edit the link.) From HN Guidelines: "Please submit the original source".

Also, the moderators don't usually kill specific stories or topics (except spam). If articles are killed, it's usually due to users flagging them (e.g., as off-topic).

Finally, if you have questions about moderation issues, you can contact the moderators at hn@ycombinator.com.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Threads can also get down-weighted, so that they leave the front page faster. I believe this is done for (some/most?) political stories.
[I agree.] The original article was posted yesterday https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21552873 . It was not killed but it didn't get much traction.

I'll also blame some USA-centrism of the users, a story with the title "Trump drops ice-cream while trying to pickup MAGA hat" will get to the front page in spite it would be off-topic. Stories about other countries usually get less traction.

This transcends "intellectual curiosity". It's one of the most extraordinary pieces of longform journalism we have ever witnessed. Typically we only get an inside peek at the inner machinations of authority after the fact. Getting a glimpse in real-time of actual primary source documentary evidence seems unprecedented.

There are also a many points of relevance to consumer internet tech. The fact that leaders specifically call out WeChat, for example.

One wonders if the story behind the source of these documents will ever come to light?

'Absolutely No Mercy': Leaked Files Expose How China Organized Mass Detention of Muslims

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/ch...

hn is ran by a bunch of liberals - go figure
I have found that downvotes and flags tend to appear on them within a second or two of submitting, which does suggest automated suppression, whether by HN or just by bots.
Including this one, which was already at zero by the time I could refresh the page from submitting.
The moderators do not have an effective solution for wumamos. Discussion of China isn't really worth it under these circumstances.

There's no room for "intellectual curiosity" in regards to some issues. China tops that list. HN's apolitical stance amounts to discouraging discussion in regards to dissenting views.

Like other voting based sites, there is an implicit endorsement of the dominant narratives. Presenting this as curiosity seems like a bit of a stretch.

Perhaps this could be changed by ranking contentious comments and threads differently. Disputed information is a feature of the horizon.

Ideally people wouldn't down-vote those who they disagree with, but here we are. Even if there were a disagree button, wumaos act in bad faith by definition.