Yes, you're right, computers are excellent at counting. The hard part about deciding what to choose to display on a website requires that human decisions be made as to what is important to count. If "weather" (in general) is allowed to be a topic, then "weather" will always be very high on the list of what is trending. What then - maybe the top story should be just one of the "weather" stories like "One-half Inch of Rain Sprinkles Reno Yesterday." Obviously, some human has to intervene and that's what does happen.
I just find it hard to believe that there are people so unimaginative as to find it shocking that there is a website being operated by humans with biases. "Well, no wonder my life is all screwed up; there's a biased website out there!" ;-)
(And, then they post about it on FR.) ;-)
The hard part about deciding what to choose to display on a website requires that human decisions be made as to what is important to count.Nah.
Content doesn't need to 'mean' anything.
Count everything; post the top twenty makes NO distinction about content.