"Founder" is literally just anyone who has been around for awhile in the airdrops.

It is a title.  Like being called "Commander" rank in a shooter game... you aren't really a commander, it is just a title.

For sticking around and believing in the project you get extra.  Sure, this doesn't take any special talents, but...

Take this comparison:

Dave joined company X as a startup.

Dave gets paid more each year.  Newer people start out at lower wages and make money for the company at lower wages.

Dave still makes money for the company, but the other people do, too.  Dave has stayed with the company for years and years and years and even gets stock options.

When new people spend their time at the company, making the very good product X, are they getting scammed?

I'm willing to say, maybe, haha... but that is more of a societal level philosophical question.  The reality is that as a society we don't see Dave getting bonuses as bad and we don't see company X as evil (based on these points alone).

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DeepOnion is following the 'freemium' and giveaway models of value.

Both 'John Dies at the End' and 'The Martian' both started as free books available online.  Now, both are published novels with movie adaptations.

Nobody has been coerced into buying DeepOnion.  Airdrops  just help keep you at the same percentage  of the whole project, and keep you up with miners.