Why Is Bethany Mota At The WHCD?

If you're in the mood to play a rousing round of "One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other," simply glance through the guest list for 2015's White House Correspondents' Dinner. Amongst the usual crop of politicians and other luminaries are a handful of social media stars including YouTube phenomenon Bethany Mota. Why is Bethany Mota at The White House Correspondents' Dinner? The White House isn't attempting a belated April's Fools' prank with its inclusion of social media stars; in fact, these unexpected additions to the list are the focal point of the night.

Hosted by SNL comedian Cecily Strong, the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner is bound to be quite a departure from years' past. According to The Washington Post, Mota and stars of her ilk are crucial to the Correspondents' dinner due to their extensive fan base and therefore, their ability to reach individuals who might not otherwise be intrigued by politics. Mota's YouTube channel is an abundance of short videos on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle topics, but there is some hard-hitting matter mixed in with the lighthearted matter that may explain Mota's invite to the occasion. Mota interviewed President Obama in January 2015 along with GloZell Green and Hank Green, thereby blurring the line between traditional journalism and social media journalism.

Furthermore, media pundit Ariana Huffington has dubbed Mota and her fellow vloggers the new journalistic royalty. “There’s a new power center. People whose names you might not have heard of have tremendous power — and we want to know them,” Huffington explained to The Washington Post. Mota's inclusion in the Correspondents' dinner shouldn't come as a surprise when you glance at the vlogger's numbers; Mota's YouTube channel currently has 8,581,993 subscribers, and a short six-minute video entitled "Morning Routine: Fall Edition!!" alone has 10,549,283 views. So if you wish to engage in an earnest chat with President Obama regarding his foreign policy or healthcare initiatives, you'd best start uploading videos to YouTube and hope that eight million viewers will find your work intriguing.