Abstract

The media through which we disseminate information is inextricably intertwined with the way in which we acquire items of knowledge and belief. Effective knowledge- and belief-acquisition, furthermore, depends crucially on our conception of the truth and the value we give to cultivating the virtues of truth-discovery. The digital milieu of the Information Age conspires against truth—acting as a vehicle for the expression of belief as opposed to a vehicle for the acquisition of knowledge. In this paper, I examine the special features of knowledge and belief as well as the accompanying virtues of Accuracy, Sincerity, Authenticity, and Honesty. I examine, in true Bernard-Williams-type-fashion, external and inner obstacles to truth-discovery but as they pertain to information technology. Information technology presents a unique obstacle: the ability for persons to experience immediate gratification with the exertion of minimal effort. This fact, coupled with the intentional installment of obstacles like targeted advertisement and filter bubbles, creates an environment where the importance of narrative outweighs that of the truth of information. I dedicate the final subchapter of my paper to a discussion of the potential for social media to foster inauthenticity in social media users. It is impossible for a person to be authentic if any part of that person involves falsity. Authenticity plays a peculiar role, then, in the acquisition of knowledge of oneself as well as knowledge of external, objective reality.