Baseless cynicism is not helpful.

Technically you aren't false, this could be just a PR thing, but why would you assume that?

"YC requests these startups because they want these startups" is a much simpler explanation than "YC requests these startups as a marketing ploy".

I don't see a good reason to be so skeptical, so I will go ahead and take this post at face value.

Obviously everyone should think for themselves, and if your startup doesn't fit these categories you should apply anyway (as the article says). I'm just saying that assuming they're being honest here is valuable to me, as a guideline for thinking about startup ideas and YC's vision for the future.

Dismissing this stuff (without a good, specific argument) would hurt more than it helps.