Brandolini's law

[MightyGiants]

I only recently stumbled across this.  It was an ah-ha moment for me.

Brandolini's law, also known as the bullsh!t asymmetry principle, is an internet adage coined in 2013 by Alberto Brandolini, an Italian programmer, that emphasizes the effort of debunking misinformation, in comparison to the relative ease of creating it in the first place.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law#:~:text=Brandolini's%20law%2C%20also%20known%20as,it%20in%20the%20first%20place.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Interesting that they have an actual name for it

It's especially common in today's politics, and false stories, rumors, and flat out lies spread quicker than a brush fire on a windy day. There are dozens of "fact-checkers", but even they have a political dog in the fight and oftentimes actually throw wood on the fire. The internet has become a wild-ass tool where anyone can say anything, and the juicier the lie, the quicker it spreads and eventually is taken as fact. And as LBJ once said, "you don't have to prove your political opponent is having sexual relations with barnyard animals, you just have to get him to deny it publicly". Unfortunately, he knew what he was talking about; hence, politics is blood sport and the dirtiest game ever. Throw your hat in the ring and be prepared to roll in the mud and defend your personal life to your wife that you are actually faithful, and you don't have secret bank accounts, or a drug habit, etc. It's not for everyone...me included

[Bob In PA]

Before the era of electricity, news traveled so slowly that if you could get a lie out there into the public consciousness, it might take years to dispel it. These days, a correction can travel the globe in the blink of an eye. True, it's a lot easier today to get a lie out there, but I believe the ratio between lying and dispelling was much greater back in the "good old days" than it is today. Bob