We Print the Truth

"We Print The Truth" is a 1943 science fiction/fantasy short story by Anthony Boucher. It was first published in Astounding Science Fiction, in December 1943.

Synopsis

When editor John McVeagh is offered a gift by a supernatural being, he asks that his newspaper only ever print the truth. This has consequences beyond what he could have imagined.

Reception

"We Print the Truth" was a finalist for the 1944 Retro Hugo for Best Novella.
In his 2015 review of Boucher's work, Jeffrey Marks noted the presence of Boucher's thematic "passions": religion and mystery. Writing for The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, Brian Stableford called it "moralistic" and "perhaps finest work".