Fact-check the stuff you want to be true even harder than the stuff you don’t.

Scepticism switches itself off in the presence of good news. A claim that fits what you already believe gets waved through without any of the checking you would automatically apply to the opposite claim, which means your most confident wrong beliefs are usually the comfortable ones. Nobody catches this happening, because agreeing feels like recognising the truth rather than skipping a step.

Pick one thing you believe and enjoy believing, then go looking for the strongest case against it. Check the source of the next statistic that pleases you. Only checking your opponents is not checking.