I totally agree with you! I think that nowadays media literacy should be more broadly taught from early on. That would help people to question the things they read/watch, since anyone could be claiming all kind of nonsense, even quite convincingly.

The most important thing to check are the references, as you mentioned. I'm always very suspicious when I see people noting "according to studies" but there are no references. Another affair to check is the qualifications. Every day, for instance on Instagram, I see people with no education whatsoever giving fool, even risky, advice, and people are believing them. It's just so sad that today everything needs to be double-checked, even the content of TED talks. 😕