I used to be stubborn: I only look at on-chain data, and emotions are just noise.

As a result, I was taught a lesson by "hype" a few times, especially recently with social mining and fan tokens—attention can really push people over the edge, and no matter how beautiful the on-chain data looks, it can't stop a herd rushing in.
Later, I corrected myself: look at the direction on-chain, and watch the speed of emotions.

As for how beginners should read credibility, I usually focus on three things:
Don't just look at stars on GitHub; check the commit history and whether the contributors are "alive" and active.
Don't treat audit reports as a get-out-of-jail-free card; focus on whether high-risk issues haven't been fixed, and whether the fixes are understandable.
Upgrading multi-signature is even more critical—who can modify the contract, what are the signing thresholds, and is there a timelock (giving you time to escape).
Leverage isn't scary; even small multiples can die in the blink of an eye with the thought "just upgrade it."
Anyway, I now prefer to go slower and make sure the exit button is confirmed first.