It's no secret that content moderators moderate content. Most of the stuff on HN is shaped by a few people who gets to decide what's interesting enough to get a boost or not.
It definitely feels like gaslighting when you notice it happening. For example a few times I know I made a comment on an old article the day before but it didn't get traction. But then it would be on the frontpage again the next day with all the timestamps manipulated to seem fresher, including on my own comments! I know I was sleeping at that time so then I start questioning my sanity and whether I was sleepwalking or not!
Most of HN isn't shaped by moderators boosting stories. But some of it is. The intention is just to make the site more interesting to the community. We don't always get that right, because sometimes the stories we think people will like just get flagged, and in that case we usually accede to the flaggers and unboost the thing. But most of the time it seems to work out.
It definitely feels like gaslighting when you notice it happening. For example a few times I know I made a comment on an old article the day before but it didn't get traction. But then it would be on the frontpage again the next day with all the timestamps manipulated to seem fresher, including on my own comments! I know I was sleeping at that time so then I start questioning my sanity and whether I was sleepwalking or not!