I don't want to show you the exact article or user who bought the claps, but whether it was the author themselves or an SEO , they paid 100 people 11cents each.
This type of paid for engagement is rife online. Buying any manner of social media like, or friend or follower is common on crowdsource sites. Reviews, attempts to increase the visibility of products etc....so sad but a huge part of the internet is so fake, and even medium doesn't escape, in fact I see a rising trend of clap buying which probably correlated to its increase in popularity. There are many crowdsource websites with huge crowds of workers and with few scruples it seems. Use your imagination and with a few USD there is so much you can do.
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This is why I've been saying in a few places and in certain circles, that:
There is so much intangible and intrinsic value floating around, that money doesn't even begin to cover it. Money is nice as a medium of exchange, but it's only an approximation of value.
Well, it's too bad that Medium has to deal with that, too. I had high hopes for them and I still do. I am reading them more often and they do have very high quality articles to read there.
But if people need to buy votes, then they are exhibiting a rather high sense of insecurity. I would rather let my article stand on the merits than to pay for votes. That was the lesson I learned from using bots for a short time, too. I was getting more satisfaction with fewer votes not paid for, than with votes paid for.
I can't help but get the sense that someone will develop AI to root this out and expose it. It's only a matter of time.