As of now this story has received 201 votes in 16 minutes. Not what I'd have predicted. Now 301 votes in 20 minutes. It is interesting, but can someone explain

As of now this story has received 201 votes in 16 minutes. Not what I'd have predicted. Now 301 votes in 20 minutes. It is interesting, but can someone explain why this story is attracting attention like a major world news event? 528 votes in 27 minutes, and that's without being on the front page at the moment. If a hacker can do this to one story, how might they be shaping the content of the whole site?