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Mashable

Why are we still talking about Moo Deng? Here's why we hate the viral phenomenon

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Summary
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59% Informative

Not everyone finds Moo Deng all that cute, but because she's a meme — and memes get seen by everyone — she's overexposed.

Memes light up a different part of the brain than cute images, and that's what happened here.

The answer is rooted in the pseudoscientific concept of "unconscious priming," or responding to some stimulus in a way that is "primed" by a previous stimulus.

Moo Deng is perceived by many to be a very cute animal, which is fine.

The internet has plenty of opt-outs for cute animal content.

Some haters have tried to argue that Khao Kheow Open Zoo is an exceptionally cruel zoo.

That theory is not currently supported by the facts.