Because as far as I know, it doesn't...

I think just the answer voted for.

It doesn't?Wow.

This question makes the giant assumption that answers don't contribute...

Well I'm pretty sure they don't. Kinda certain actually.
Picks, images, videos, articles count because they can be rated, but answers won't make any difference.

If you don't post any content to a spot but visit it a lot and answer lots of questions, then even after about a month, in your list of medals, that spot won't be any closer to the top than it was before.

I would suggest that all contributions made to a spot count towards a medal, but everything is weighted differently. For example, videos/images/links/articles that can be viewed and rated are probably weighted more heavily than picks/comments/answers because they have the potential for more activity on them that can be tangibly calculated.
People used to be absolutely positive that commenting and picks didn't contribute to medals, yet I know people who have added very little to spots except for a hell of a lot of comments who got medals.
I think answers probably do contribute (no one except the F4 knows for sure) to medals, but they carry a small weight, comparatively.

Don't they already? I thought every contribution counts.

Well, you know if there are 500 questions and on each a person answers with ‘I don't know’ they could get 500 ‘points’ just for nothing. And i've seen such answers quite often.

yesh but once that secret comes out . u will have bunch of fake ass holes aka medel hores , that are going to awnswer with out caring . i dont really care that pickes wont earen u medels . its one of my favorite things about fanpop ... i enjoy giving my opinions & hearing other peopels

yes of corce
thats it
anyone like black veil brides
anyone here a emo

It takes time to vote on all the polls. :3 Depending on the spot of course.

I think all contributions count, to some extent. But articles, images, videos and links count the most, because they can be fanned.

Maybe answers which are voted as best options? Otherwise people could spam with incorrect answers, even "I don't know" answers, and it'd count as much as a correct, detailed answers.

I know that this would then depend on people actually voting for a best option, and voting accurately, but that's also true for fanning stuff.