I dont think people are reading the whitepaper. the things is that most of the people who investing on ICO is only following other people movement.
I think at least you will feel comfortable because you put your hard-earned money into a project you've learned. But I believe 'luck' plays a role here too.
I'm sure most people do not actually use whitepapers, sometimes I do not either. They may just put the keyword "best ICO to invest in 2018" on google and invest in it.
But I agree with @whirlcoin, if you really want your investment to be worth it then reading a white paper, it does not guarantee the project will work if you read it.