One thing I'll add: if you don't have specific training in the field in question, just ignore any use of "scientific consensus" to justify an argument.
The "scientific consensus" trope is just dressed-up appeal to authority, and even if there is such a "consensus", it's almost never broad enough to be applicable to whatever pop-science journalism thing you're reading.
Also, even within the hallowed halls of academic science, most scientists are just repeating things they've heard other people say. Unless the "consensus" is amongst scientists who have spent their entire career studying the specific question (and by "specific", I mean...hyper specific, not just "in the same field", and certainly not something meaningless like "epidemiology"), this kind of thing just devolves into a popularity contest. You'd be shocked by how many PhDs just confidently repeat whatever silly thing they saw that morning in the New York Times.
Also, since I'm already seeing the meme appear...people are waaaaay too worried about "amplifying fringe voices" these days. News flash: if you don't know what you're talking about, then you can't possibly know what you should or should not be "amplifying". Stick to what you know, be modest about what you don't know (which is most things), and let the facts sort themselves out over time. Science only works if contrarians get a voice.