BuzzFeed’s sacred guideline was not to strictly separate news from advertising, the cardinal rule of old, but to create shareable (as distinct from merely likable) content. Smith’s news operation helped BuzzFeed distinguish itself from the shameless traffic factories that made money from eyeballs lured by clickbait. If your only goal was to play to people’s desires, Smith suggested to the New Republic, “why would you do politics? Why not do porn? I mean, seriously?”
