Because the stupid sensationalist mainstream news hyped it up.

"Doge" I guess is a popular meme in popular culture, and the dumbed-down sheep get obsessed with that kind of stuff.

So of course when the news published the article saying DOGE was worth 1 billion (hint: sideways effort to delegitimize the entire crypto industry), of course it got pumped up.

And on top of that, the pump and dump that will ensue will reinforce in uninformed people's minds that crypto is a scam.