We have busy lives with work and family. Many of us don't have the time or inclination to research every story, so we listen to the mainstream media, the TV, the radio, and newspapers. We skim the headlines and only read articles that interest us. We rely on them to tell us the truth, and what we hear from them determines our worldview.
The question is, when we rely on the mainstream media, do we get a true view of the world? Is what we think correct? However sure we are, are we right or wrong?
Once we leave the mainstream for information we travel on a journey. Everyone has their own journey, and their own story. People who have travelled such a journey call it "peeling back the layers of an onion". Hence "The Onion Story", because when you discover something new, it often leads to something new again.
When travelling it's good to be open-minded, but not too open-minded. We need to strive to separate reliable information from unreliable information.
I like to investigate, reject some things, put some things to the side as "I'm not sure about this", and put some things in the "I think that is trustworthy"
One strong belief I have is that it's dangerous to have strong beliefs lol. I am very willing to change my view on something if someone presents good information. I'd rather be wrong, change my view, and be right, than spend the rest of my life being wrong.
Each layer of the onion you peel back leads you further from the mainstream view of the world, and when you talk to people who have not even touched the onion you can sound completely insane, a nut job, a conspiracy theorist. But that doesn't make you wrong. It just means some people haven't travelled on their journey far enough to be able to accept the ideas. We each travel our own journey at our own speed. That's fine.
Those shouting for freedom, those "anti-vaxxers", have done lots of research, know lots of doctors and researchers, they've listened to "conspiracy theories", that have turned out to be right. They know something that most have not yet learned.
One tip I find useful is to look for who the mainstream media dismisses or censors. They do that because they don't want you to hear what those people have to say. Those are the people I search for to listen to. Nearly always they turn out to be great sources of information.
I wish you well on your journey. Start on the easier things to accept, make up your on mind on things, and enjoy the journey. I wish you well.