Brandolini's Law (Bullshit Asymmetry)

The energy required to refute nonsense is an order of magnitude greater than the energy required to produce it. One sentence of misinformation can take a paragraph of careful explanation to debunk—and the debunking rarely reaches as wide an audience as the original claim. This asymmetry explains why misinformation spreads faster than truth, why bad arguments win over good ones in public discourse, and why Gish galloping (flooding opponents with numerous weak arguments) is an effective rhetorical strategy despite being intellectually dishonest.

When to use it

When facing misinformation, bad-faith arguments, or Gish gallop tactics; when designing information systems that need to resist manipulation; when deciding which claims are worth refuting and which to ignore; when evaluating why truth seems to lose to falsehood in public discourse.

How it can help

Accept the asymmetry and strategize accordingly. Don't try to refute every false claim point-by-point—you'll exhaust yourself while the misinformation producer barely breaks a sweat. Instead: (1) Focus refutation on high-impact claims, not all claims. (2) Lead with your positive case rather than chasing refutations. (3) Build credibility proactively so your audience trusts your judgments without needing line-by-line debunking. In organizations, prevent bullshit asymmetry by requiring evidence standards BEFORE claims circulate, not after.