I'm totally with you. It's not fair and yes, it's not different to any other platform, where only paid content gets seen. I don't like that either, but I surrendered to play by these rules, changing them wherever I can by providing what my readers think is good content.
I would never post some shitty meme I copied from Facebook and then promote it with bots. People do that, I know. The only thing I/we can do, is play by the rules, while trying to provide the good content, that this platform and the real people behind it deserve. I see no other way at the moment...