The trick is paying attention long enough to determine if sources stay consistent, issue proper corrections & retractions, are intellectually honest, etc.

Or if the purveyors are just hacking ratings, for more ad revenue.

In the 80s, I eschewed a career in broadcast media. I loved the gear, doing creative stuff, working in the studio. But absolutely hated the business. "If it bleeds, it leads."

We've been complaining about outrage engines since the beginning. Social media just made things much much worse.