Meaning of "due to"

I found the following sentence on one of articles that I've read. In fact the usage of "due to" in the sentence is quite questionable for me as it seems as though the phrase started with "due to" is the object of the sentence. Therefore, I cannot understand the grammar of this sentence. For that reason, I would really appreciate it if someone could let me know whether the meaning of "due to" in the the sentence is the same as "because of".

A lack of interest in the news is also due to the fact that young people are fascinated by new technology, such as computers and the Internet.