The answer definitely is a mix of whatever people wants to consume!

The real issue with the "quality" of the content here (plagiarism set aside) is that content discovery sucks. Humorous short content get mixed with excellent STEM research articles... Or a thought provoking standalone image get entangled with a travel log with +10 breathtaking shots... I think that sorting out the content for people interested on specific types would be the best outcome...

Also,

Get Rid of the Trending Page!

Current state of trending page only shows who's linked with the big wallets, that's the ugly truth... Sometimes the quality of the content March the rewards, but that's rather an exception... No offense intended but that's how content is currently sorted... I think that a trending page for every type of content like travel logs, sci-fi, games, blockchain related, personal blogs, science and tech, humor & memes, engagement, videos, music, sports, freelance, food, pets... There are so many topics people browse in a quest to find the next jewel that just let he/she get informed, excited, amused, etc.