If no one reads anything I've ever written I might hope they would read this. You can trust NOTHING -- repeat ABSOLUTELY NOTHING -- you read, see, or hear unless the source is well known to you personally and is credible (I realize the irony of this as someone typing on a semi-anonymous Internet forum).
The ONE thing that has expanded exponentially is the volume and sheer amount of absolute informational propaganda just about everywhere (from EVERY source). There MAY be a fact or half-truth in there somewhere, but we've been subjected to nothing but a bombardment of parrots hearing something and squawking at each other over the last couple of decades. Nothing even remotely related to facts or truth. This shapes perception amongst the unwary and can cause real harm.
It's almost like that old game of "telephone" but the words and phrases are moving in both directions.
I'm getting kinda older and have been around the block a few times. But I've never seen anything like this in what passes for news and media these days.
What do I use as a barometer ? Coercion. If something has to be coercive in nature, chances are it's the wrong path and the argument is incapable of standing on its own merit or real facts. Lockdowns, mandates, etc. all fall into this category.