There is a lot of information here, and anything here can be considered canon unless noted otherwise.
Obviously your character will not know all of it. Generally if you think that a totalitarian near-dictatorship that performs massive media manipulation would keep it from you, they probably have.
Why is it here then? Because I need to give you an overview of the world you are living in.
Timeline – How we got here. The divergent timeline of the cyberpunk era.
Carbon Plague Timeline – Specific timeline related to the events around the Carbon Plague
The Incorporated States of America – A general overview of the ISA and details on typical living, education and corporations.
Night City – The city where the story takes place in California.
Technology – quick overview of techs of 2027
Orbits – A diagram of the Earth/Moon system for when you read the timeline and get confused about all the random space stations.
Organisations – The main organisations trying to help or hinder you.
Entertainment – Entertainment and media for 2027
SINs of Identity - How your are identified to the system
In Character Materials
Carbon Plague Analysis – background fluff on the carbon plague. The contents of this are mostly factual results of scientific analysis and can be considered the best In Character understanding of the carbon plague.
Why the Plague is a Random Mutation – An article about the plague, unlike the above is is a point of view and speculation, and should be considered an opinion by a respected person in the world, but not necessarily OC canon.