Sadly, a lot of people aren't interested in the actual projects, and are following the herds into any coin in the hope of seeing a huge return quickly. This kind of mentality isn't helped by high profile celebrities naming their "pick of the day".
Like you say, there are a lot of worthless projects being pumped. However, there are also a lot of bargains to be found in exciting projects that are yet to reach mainstream hype. Putting in the research hours now should pay off big time in the long run.