It is not whether you trust, but who you trust
We must be careful that healthy skepticism does not become cynicism and bitterness.
We all trust something or someone. If we are gathering information on a topic, we place our trust in someone to provide that information. None of us are personally experimenting with the coronavirus, on the ground in Gaza as Israel fights Hamas, or are reading every word in a specific piece of legislation before Congress. If you distrust “the mainstream media,” that is fine.
What you need to realize is this: You do not distrust all media. You are simply transferring that trust somewhere else. Whether it be the Daily Wire, InfoWars, The Bulwark, Tucker Carlson, Warhorn Media, a random Reddit forum, or whatever other source, if you are consuming information you are placing your trust in the provider of that information to present it in both a factual and truthful way. Remember, it is possible to be 100% totally factual and yet still be untruthful, by doing things such as leaving out important facts.
The problem we face today, which leads to the spread of conspiracy theories, is that so much of our mainstream authorities have beclowned themselves. One example is that public health authorities claimed masks did not work early in the COVID-19 pandemic in order to preserve masks for health care workers, then reversed themselves when the mask shortage became less severe. I am sure we could all come up with countless examples of our mainstream media and our government openly lying to us, which could not only fill up a book, but multiple volumes of a set of encyclopedias.
We should be careful, though, not to be overly cynical in how we process information. Do not run to the most deranged conspiracy theorist just because he took the “red pill” a few weeks before you did. A wacko might be correct on a specific issue or two, but a wacko is still a wacko. The “normies” might be a little behind where you think they should be on this or that topic, but the reason most people are “normies” is because they recognize crazy as crazy. Use discernment, certainly, and recognize pernicious liars, but do not give in to bitterness, and do not distrust everyone. Paranoia, bitterness, distrust and cynicism are not foundations for a mentally and emotionally healthy existence.