Those top numbers are pretty shocking! I had no idea people were still getting paid that much!

Some top quality community members on that hot 100 list..........

It would be interesting to see, if possible, the difference between Steem returned via Author payouts, and the Steem used to purchase votes. I think the list would probably be a bit different -- not entirely different, but probably not negligibly either.

Good work @themarkymark. Top authors by payout is pretty disturbing. Take number 5, @determine, this account has just 26 followers. Appears to be buying votes on Day 3. Number 3, @triptolemus, only has 980 followers. Same thing with the late upvotes. Looks these 2 accounts are good pals too.

Link : https://usesteem.com/steemwhales/topauthors

This is the type of oversight information we need. 

Really interesting to look through this list and see how few people I actually recognize. Unfortunately, it's even more interesting to look through for people I know put out good content and then see how low they are on the list. Really makes ya think about whether the best creators are getting rewarded on this site.

Nicely done :D. I like looking at this list.

<div class="pull-left">https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaSUWYsJ3AMUEMRqCSaoKJVNvtsbKm4fNAtmTidr8Uggc/C%20Squared%20Logo%20Transparency%20200px.png</div><br>This post was shared in the <a href="https://discord.gg/B8JFmJ4">Curation Collective Discord community</a> for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.<br/>@c-squared runs a <a href="https://steemit.com/witness/@c-cubed/announcing-the-launch-of-the-new-c-squared-witness">community witness</a>. Please consider using one of your witness votes on us <a href ="https://steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=c-squared&approve=1">here</a>

This is kinda depressing 

Posted using [Partiko iOS](https://steemit.com/@partiko-ios)

Sad to see certain people consistently buying massive votes just to stay on trending. Some of them have huge followings and can make a good amount from real votes. The real winners are those selling the votes and I opt to not support them. Okay, so I delegate to one very small 'bid bot' that supports runners, but I don't buy votes on specific posts. I don't self vote either as I need my VP to support others and deal with abuse.

I think the trending page gives a wrong and harmful impression of what Steem is to new users. They expect to make as much and they will see buying votes as the way to do that rather than actually engaging with others and building communities.

So, who dares to flag these 'top' accounts?

I just checked and it seems I'm not in the top 1000 :(

This post has been included in today's  [**SOS Daily News**](https://steemit.com/steem/@pennsif/sosdailynewsnewsaboutthestateofsteem5january2019-sb8nwjmxgt) - a digest of all you need to know about the State of Steem.

***

* *Editor of the [**The State of Steem SoS Daily News**](https://steemit.com/steem/@pennsif/sosdailynewsnewsaboutthestateofsteem5january2019-sb8nwjmxgt).*

* *Promoter of [**The State of Steem SoS Weekly Forums**](https://steemit.com/dtube/@pennsif/amwntxt3).*

* *Editor of the [**weekly listing of steem radio shows, podcasts & social broadcasts**](https://steemit.com/mspwaves/@pennsif/schedule-of-radio-shows-podcasts-and-social-broadcasts-supported-by-dsound-week-beginning-31-december-2018).*

* *Founder of the [**A Dollar A Day**](https://steemit.com/adollaraday/@adollaraday/a-dollar-a-day-charitable-giving-project-ususd-5000-donated-in-8-months-we-made-it) charitable giving project.*

https://pennsif.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/adollaraday-linear-400x98.jpg

***

Pretty useful information. Up-voted.

Yesssssssssssss, I think I won your "steem monsters giveaway - who is your favorite steem content producer?" right???

Thank@themarkymark

#### Hi @themarkymark!

Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your **UA** account score is currently 8.055 which ranks you at **#27** across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has not changed in the last three days.

In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 238 contributions, your post is ranked at **#1**. Congratulations! 
##### Evaluation of your UA score:

* Your follower network is great!
* The readers appreciate your great work!
* Great user engagement! You rock!


**Feel free to join our [@steem-ua Discord server](https://discord.gg/KpBNYGz)**

Now which of those top paying authors did NOT use bidbots to recycle their funds