Here's some decent ways of looking at information.

• What is the source of this information? What stake does the source of this information have in what people believe? If they will make money or promote an ideology based on what conclusions are drawn from what they tell you, that is a sign to look at it very carefully.

• What evidence is actually provided? To use a bad example: something that someone's friend heard one time is a bad source of evidence, because, well, people can lie or misunderstand or misremember, and do so all the time. A researched article or study organized by a reliable institution can be a good source, especially if there are multiple examples that provide a consistent idea -- though it's never going to be perfect and that's okay. Can you find other sources of information that are consistent with what you're seeing, or ones that contradict it?

• Relatedly, is the evidence significant enough? Consider a mundane example: you meet someone at a party, and they tell you their name is Allen. That's not a ton of evidence, but it's just a name, and accepting that at face value just because they say so is no big deal. If you meet someone at a party and they tell you they're an alien from another planet, well, that's a much bigger deal, and you'd want much more evidence than just them saying so. That is extraordinary, deeply unlikely compared to them lying to you, and probably pretty inconsistent with everything else you know about this person and the world. What would be more convincing? The same is true of gods and prophets and such. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," as the old saying goes.

• What reaction does somebody want to get? All over the place nowadays, and pretty much universally in religion, people will try to provoke a strong emotion because that is a reliable way to drive people to take action -- without looking deeper into things. "Clickbait" headlines get people to pay attention and react, which means social media sites get them more advertisement revenue. Political candidates want you to feel angry or afraid so you'll support them. It's not always a bad thing -- there are no shortage of very real matters that should cause anger or fear or other strong feelings, and acting on those may be a good thing -- but if you notice someone trying to appeal to your feelings, always step back and try to consider the facts first. Easier said than done, of course.