It’s true that it’s hard to know for sure, but there are a bunch of things you can do. One of the most obvious is to see what other reputable sources say about

It’s true that it’s hard to know for sure, but there are a bunch of things you can do. One of the most obvious is to see what other reputable sources say about the author. What’s their track record in the past? Then for any specific piece, you can look at the arguments they’re making, and then look at the sources they reference. Are those sources reputable, etc. To put it another way, you need to have a bunch of sources you trust, and then see how strong the connections are from any new data back to those original trustworthy sources.