For COVID related updates I always go right to the source if there is one for the new update and evaluate from there, and if there is no source then disregard it. So, if there's an article about sars-cov-2 being scientifically proven to cause XYZ or whatever, see what the paper they're citing is, and from there you've got a few heuristics (is it already peer-reviewed, is it still a preprint in which case take it with a grain of salt, are there other studies that corraborate it, and so on). Otherwise, I just ignore/filter out pandemic news and videos, fact checking every random thing that pops up is way too energy and time intensive and there's no point letting yourself be influenced by the headlines/constant barrage of changing information. Especially for the conspiracy-type stuff (it came from a lab, it is a bioweapon, it was covered up), their truth is currently irrelevant. It doesn't matter if COVID came from a bat in a wet market or a lab accident since what matters now is dealing with it now that it's here, and all that finger-pointing is basically just political distraction. Far more productive to be up to date on vaccine efforts, drug efforts, what people are finding in terms of whether or not ventilators should be used, how the hospital system is coping, if there's a way to help through any of the local 3d printing groups, etc etc