The standard rhetoric of some groups is "do your own research, don't trust the authorities". Does this qualify as thinking for yourself? They say yes, I see a problem.
"Do your own research" is the "trust no one" of the 2020's. Anyone who says it simply wants you to go away and isn't interested in debate and is unwilling to accept any information that might imply that they are wrong. If someone says "do your own research" to you and you are not both currently scientists working in the same field then it is safe to ignore them and everything they have ever said (and quite possibly everything they ever will say).
As for trust or distrust in authorities. There are many authorities that give you a good reason to trust them, namely a track record of telling the truth and acting in your best interest. There are also many authorities that give you a good reason to distrust them, by abusing their authority for personal profit, exposing themselves as an enemy, or selling out their built up goodwill to the highest bidder.
If there's no willingness to accept that a belief is mistaken then there's no room for reason.