That inauthenticity comment really hit home for me, too. I realize that I do not trust the internet at large, and haven't for a long time. That's been the real trigger for my retreat from mass social media into smaller, tigher online communities.
Even HN is starting to feel like it wants to sell me something.
The latter feeling may be because HN is run by a startup accelerator. They run literal native ads on the front page whenna startup they sponsor goes live.
I don't think that's where it comes from. It comes from the same places as Google, where people know the value of this community's attention. Posts at the top of HN are designed to get to the top of HN.
Even HN is starting to feel like it wants to sell me something.