That's a good question. I would say that it depends on the individual posts/accounts. But votes/payouts alone wouldn't really be a scam. Motive is one of those things that we really can't definitively know.
However...if we know that one of the users has schemed/scammed or abused in the past, we should certainly take that into consideration. If you've been around long enough and have paid attention, you should have an idea of who's who around here and how they've earned their influence/stake.
I agree, we can't begin judging motives.
Just continue posting good photo's and content and hopefully it will all even out.