“We should seek maximum publicity and maximum debunking…by making as much publicity as possible; the book will sell… and by showing that the publishers jumped early…we can question the book’s authority. We will choose five inaccuracies in the book and thereby invalidate its integrity.”

The comment – according to Andrew O’Hagan (LRB, 6 March 2014) made by Julian Assange – is not shocking, but it is a particularly clear instance of a cynical presumption of, and abuse of, a general and widespread concern for integrity.