Truth Always Wins
Dispatches from the Information War
Sarah Hartman-Caverly
Abstract
At our best, librarians are the medics of information warfare, rescuing and sustaining the truth without regard for ideological loyalty. Given the political polarization of the current information climate, how are we answering that call? Part ethnography, part media critique, and part confessional tale, this chapter reflects on information ethics in the context of the contemporary information environment through an examination of the QAnon Storm conspiracy phenomenon. The composition features three interwoven strands presenting three levels of analysis: an interpretive ethnography of the conspiracy, a critical discourse analysis and critique of contemporary news media, and a confessional tale reflecting on the allure of conspiracies, intellectual taboos, cognitive biases, epistemic choice making, intellectual humility, and the elusiveness of truth.
