That begs the question: If you don't care about these stories enough to do anything to verify, then why do you care to hear/see/read these stories?
The only rational answer is that they are just entertainment to you. And to most other people.
Yes, agreed. News has become entertainment, because the standard for news has fallen so much. Which makes actual news harder for most people to attain.
“If you don’t care about false alarms, why do you listen to the fire alarm sounding and then evacuate the building? The only rational answer is that the fire alarm is just entertainment to you”
The rational answer is that they look at the news to see if there are any stories important and relevant enough that they would care to verify them.