Dear Readers,
Our latest issue is officially out in the world and live online today. Completing an issue of The Believer is a huge undertaking, made possible only by the dedicated work of our very small team of editors and designers. But we feel very lucky that we get to do this work, especially in this day and age. We’re living through a scary time where misinformation has become catastrophically widespread, as we all know. And it’s a small thing, but to work on a magazine that values the truth feels important.
I don’t know if all our readers are aware of this, but every assertion in The Believer is rigorously fact-checked—whether it’s a piece on the Democratic National Convention or a literary history of an Indonesian tetralogy. Every fact is checked. We want to be a magazine that champions writers and the creative spirit, but more than anything, we aspire to be a magazine that searches for the truth in all things. And we want to do this because we know there are readers out there who care about the truth.
This is a painful and, at times, overwhelming moment. I heard a musician say the other day that it is sad to see how popular hatred has become. How it seems to be growing more popular by the day. But we don’t need to acquiesce to this hatred, this ongoing corruption of reality, in which we are told up is down and down is up. We can all still strive to embody, in whatever capacity we can, the values of justice and fairness. Caring about what is true is not a lost cause. Wherever we can ward off the pernicious creep of cynical falsehoods, wherever we can preserve an honest, shared collective reality, that is a valuable achievement. So we will continue on with our fact-checking, and we will always strive to produce a journal of integrity and accuracy, for as long as we are able. And we remain so grateful for our readers who also care about this work, and who help us to carry on.
If you are a supporter of ours already, thank you so much. If you aren’t, but feel moved to help, a great way to support our work is to subscribe. Or perhaps you may want to give the gift of The Believer to someone else who will value this kind of publication. Or, lastly, and most crucially, if you are able to support The Believer’s independent journalism as a donor at any level—from $10 to $10,000—your contribution will make an extraordinary difference (just add “The Believer” in the comments to direct your donation).
Thanks very much for reading. And thanks for considering joining us in this essential and exciting work.
Yours,
Daniel
