Bullshit Asymmetry Principle

"A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on."

I recently stumbled upon Brandolini’s Law—aka the bullshit asymmetry principle—which reminds us of a universal truth: nonsense spreads fast, while debunking it feels like chasing my younger one to finish her veggies (and/or her math assignments)

The law states: The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

In courtrooms or workplace meetings, the party making tall claims must prove their case—makes sense, right? The same applies to corporate interactions: extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof (sorry, your fancy PowerPoint from last quarter doesn’t cut it).

But out in the wild world of social media—it’s a different game. Anyone with Wi-Fi can whip up a baseless claim, and it spreads like wildfire. Meanwhile, the truth is left scrambling, armed with facts, spreadsheets, and analysis, trying to catch up.

This dynamic plays out when customers with non-genuine complaints tag company leaders online or when disgruntled employees escalate issues to management without substance. And now, with internal platforms like Teams and Yammer, these social media mechanics are creeping into our workplaces.

Why does this happen? We’re seeing opinions with very little factual rigor amplified by a long tail of people with varied fears, experiences, and biases. It’s the perfect storm: low barriers to “talk” meet low barriers to “believe” and “support.” This unholy alliance creates what Charlie Munger calls the lollapalooza effect—essentially, chaos, but with lots of likes and upvotes.

So, what can we do? When we hear a claim or a complaint, let’s pause, double-check the facts, and save ourselves from unnecessary frenzy. Truth deserves its moment—even if it takes a little longer to get its boots on. ??