Agreed, but as an artist I can totally understand that desperation to be noticed. I would never and will never beg or try to bribe someone to vote my stuff. In a free market it IS good to be able to utilize different projects to try and boost the potential of being noticed.
I am a complete novice here, but HAVE put in a lot of hours the last few days taking pictures and been in the process of uploading several years of my art. I am so excited about the platform and believe 100% in it. It can get disheartening thinking nobody sees your stuff, when you see copied content or 0% effort stuff blowing up.
My 1 cent (literally) ;)
Like someone else said, an experienced and responsible artist will know to value their work and be in it for the long term. They'll know that begging or paying for votes will only diminish their value as an artist.
Don't be disheartened, it took me weeks before anyone noticed me either. Just keep at it, be persistent. If your work is good, and you engage with the community, you'll be noticed. You'll create a niche for yourself.