You’re going to need to be vigilant about fact checking the information you come across. Meta (FB, Insta, WhatsApp), X/Twitter, TikTok are all fascist mouthpieces at this point, and you don’t have to use those services directly yourself for the messages they amplify to reach you.

Don’t just be suspicious of those messages you oppose. Be as suspicious of rage-bait, and messages you are already primed to agree with. This is how propaganda works: by taking advantage of what people already want to believe.

If you can’t find decent sources about the thing you’re seeking to verify, set that thing aside. If you can find one source, or the same story being repeated multiple places, be skeptical. Be aware that early reporting on events as they unfold can easily be wrong in ways that impact the accuracy of the reporting, even if the story is substantially true as a whole.

Information gaps - where one party has more, or more accurate, information than another party - are how power is leveraged. When you take steps to be factually accurate, in line with objective reality, you are shrinking the power of those who would like to control you.