News sources primarily known for entertainment are a less intimidating way to draw more eyes to pressing political issues.

In the new media age, people are confronted with an overload of information with every click of a mouse. There is more choice than ever in how individuals choose to consume their news.

Buzzfeed released an article Jan. 17 about President Donald Trump lying and telling his formal lawyer, Michael Cohen to lie about the Moscow Project, and it caused quite a media frenzy. In the past, the company has released articles surrounding other important current events, often sharing space on the page with light-hearted quizzes and endearing cat videos.

This large variance of content from outlets such as Buzzfeed translates to hundreds of thousands of diverse viewers daily — viewers who may not keep a close eye on politics such as younger demographics. It is especially important for younger generations to keenly follow politics because it affects the world they’re inheriting.

“There’s a hesitancy for everyday people to be interested in news, because they feel it’s something outside of their capacity to understand,” Claire Miller, sophomore political science and philosophy major, said.

Although it’s not ideal for these sources to serve as the be all end all of news consumption, it’s a good place for individuals with a lower tolerance for mainstream media to start. It is accepted that Buzzfeed’s reporting is not on par with the Harvard Law Review. The aforementioned article was even disputed by Robert Mueller, the head of the Special Council investigating the 2016 Trump campaign, according to a Jan. 19 Washington Post article.

Despite this concession, drawing eyes to an important subject is worth the criticism that comes with its sensationalization. Considering Buzzfeed’s large audience, it’s only appropriate to assume at least one person seeing the story has never heard of the Mueller investigation or has never thought of Trump as questionable. Publicizing stories on this platform is important in keeping the general population in the loop of politics and prompting them to do further research.

Current events, especially in the modern day, tend to be a depressing subject, so there is merit to be found in the more colloquial reporting of entertainment-based media.

“I think they’re presenting the same information, but in different, more relatable ways,” Trinity Alexander, sophomore I and O psychology and corporate communication major, said. “The largest part of finding information in today’s age is looking at multiple articles on the same issue so you can draw your own conclusions. It doesn’t matter who reports it as long as the information inside the article is credible.”

While it’s certainly interesting to know what one’s favorite pizza topping says about their personality, one can only exist in this benighted bubble for so long. If viewers can’t make the decision to stray from this media themselves, it’s morally responsible and effective for entertainment outlets to circulate the content that truly matters in a fashion that will entice unconventional viewers.