Navigating the news landscape can be tough but knowing how to spot truthful, accurate information with context is crucial for an informed citizenry and a healthy democracy.

On Thursday, 2020 officially took its place in the upper echelon of warmest years in human history: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ranked last year as the hottest year to date, ahead of 2016 by just a hair. Two other global temperature tracking organizations, the U.K.’s Met Office and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said 2020 was the second-hottest year on record, closely tailing 2016. Meanwhile, the European Union’s climate change agency declared a tie between the two years.

The medical evidence is clear: The coronavirus global health threat is not an elaborate hoax. Bill Gates did not create the coronavirus to sell more vaccines. Essential oils are not effective at protecting you from coronavirus.

Remember Cousin Eddie — Randy Quaid’s lovable buffoon in National Lampoon’s Vacation series?

Fitness instructor Shauna Harrison's Instagram feed consists of simple workout routines and yoga stretches she shares with her 84,000 followers.

Reality check: COVID doesn’t care about you. It feels no compassion, no regret about the millions it’s killed. It isn’t concerned with the time of year, or the news cycle, or politics. It’s not taking a break for Christmas. It definitely doesn’t care that we’re all burnt out and tired of hearing about it.

It’s been eight months and 20 days since the W-H-O formally declared COVID-19 a pandemic. And yet, it sure doesn’t feel that way out there in the world. In the spring, the roads were eerily quiet. With not only schools, restaurants and entertainment venues closed — but also most stores and offices — there were few places for people to go. Not so, today. And yet, the pandemic is as bad as it’s ever been.

While the US contends with a huge surge in cases and record hospitalizations, federal inaction has forced local officials to adopt their own rules and messaging, creating a patchwork of confusing regulations that differ across the country, and are constantly changing. Polls suggest Americans are exhausted.