I do not agree that the post that pays $500 should automatically be on the Top or Trending unless the metrics for those sections worked with that number in mind. I don't know the algorithm, but I also believe people look at the Promoted section as much as they do the Hot or Trending sections, which is probably not as much as just their personal feed or just browsing specific hashtags. I have the same analytics as you though, so this is just all conjecture. While I do not agree, I like the post and hope to see further discussion on this topic and maybe people can shed more light on the inner workings of these sections.