My hypothesis is that 'make-money-on-Medium' stories are favored on feeds to inculcate a feeling of "You too can win the Medium lottery."

I've been on Medium for 31 months. I deliberately stayed out of the MPP program to ensure my motivation was in the correct place. I signed on in October for reasons I cannot explain. For the very few views I am getting for my work since then, I am overpaid.