Brandolini's Law
A Note on Cognitive Warfare Tactics Techniques & Tradecraft
Washington DC 14 April 2025
A Note on Cognitive Warfare Tactics Techniques & Tradecraft
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes”
This explains why we live in such a dangerously stupid era. Objective reality and truth exist. However, the flows of mis/dis/mal/ information distort cognitive reality. Flow = volume, speed, spread. Social media is incentivized to outrage not truth. This dovetails perfectly with Russian propaganda techniques that no longer seeks to impose, but to undermine, ideas like democracy.
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
Brandolini's Law, also known as the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle. It's a fascinating observation about the disproportionate amount of energy required to refute nonsense compared to the energy needed to create it. Coined by Italian programmer Alberto Brandolini in 2013, the law states that “The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.”
Yeah, there's one category that's especially pervasive and hard to counter - being asked to prove a false negative.
There's one encounter that's imprinted in my mind. When Biden won the 2020 election, some MAGAot exclaimed to me: "Prove he didn't steal it!"
Then the following discussion took place:
Me: "Okay. So I have to prove Biden didn't steal the election. But then you have to prove you're not a pedophile."
"Are you saying I'm a pedophile?"
"Yes," I said. "That's exactly what I'm saying. You're a pedophile."
"No, I'm not."
"Prove it."
"I never-"
"Never? Can you prove you never abused a child? Can you account for every second of every day of every year since you were born, what, fifty years ago? No. So, you're a pedophile."
"Ehh, yes. No. But... wait a minute. If you say I'm a pedophile, you have to prove I am. I don't have to prove I'm not."
"Really? But Biden has to prove he didn't steal the election? That what you're saying?"
"Yes! Because he stole the election!"
"Like I said - you're a pedophile. You're a child abuser, a disgusting piece of excrement."
"You cannot go around accusing people like that. That's-"
"Oh, but you can go around accusing Biden of stealing the Presidency? That what you're saying?"
"Yes! Because he stole the election!"
It was at that point in time I gave up on the MAGAots...
Nailed it. Because this has been labeled the “Information Age,” it’s a no-brainer that the ability to process and fact check said information lags behind. If you’ve ever played strategy based war games that feature being capable of scouting and attacking a target from multiple sources, then you understand the concept of flooding and swarming. The actions by themselves don’t necessarily equate to much loss or damage. The goal is to overwhelm and overload opponents, and even potentially the server that the platform is played on.