Rav Mendel Zaks quoted his father-in-law, the חפץ חיים who gave a piece of advice to help people avoid קבלת לשון הרע. He said you shouldn’t believe לשה"ר you hear because רוב העולם משקרים וכולם מגזימים. Most people are liars, but all people exaggerate.
[Heard from R' Meir Ze'ev Steinmetz]