Possibly, though it's not necessarily a mod trying to "suppress" a story. There's probably a social mechanism at play.
When posts on HN are flagged, their ranking gets hit a lot. And a reasonable share of people on HN are YC affiliated. Part of the value of YC is a sense of camaraderie and I suspect YC participants are more likely to support/flag posts that are supportive/dismissive of YC related enterprises.
It's a bit like if someone posts a big troll post about Ruby. I, and other Rubyists, are more likely to flag it. People who buy into the whole "Ruby community is evil" nonsense are more likely to vote it up.
When posts on HN are flagged, their ranking gets hit a lot. And a reasonable share of people on HN are YC affiliated. Part of the value of YC is a sense of camaraderie and I suspect YC participants are more likely to support/flag posts that are supportive/dismissive of YC related enterprises.
It's a bit like if someone posts a big troll post about Ruby. I, and other Rubyists, are more likely to flag it. People who buy into the whole "Ruby community is evil" nonsense are more likely to vote it up.