You raise a good question: if you're unwilling or unable to check the author's work, how should you evaluate articles like this? I'd say the right answer is th

You raise a good question: if you're unwilling or unable to check the author's work, how should you evaluate articles like this? I'd say the right answer is that you shouldn't evaluate it with any certainty, just file it away as something that might be true. Wrong answers would be "I disagree with the political commentary so the article wrong" or "I agree with the political commentary so the article is right". I think you're falling into the former category.