# Cunningham's Law "The best way to get the right answer on the internet is to post the wrong answer." Attributed to [[Ward Cunningham]] by Steven McGeady, who observed that people are far more motivated to correct a mistake than to answer a question. The law exploits a basic asymmetry in online behavior: asking is low-status and easy to ignore; correcting is high-status and irresistible. A confidently-stated wrong answer hijacks that reflex and turns lurkers into responders. The dark mirror is that the same mechanic weaponizes against the target of a bad-faith post. Once misinformation is broadcast, the target faces a lose-lose: - **Stay silent**: the wrong claim spreads unopposed and accumulates social proof through default belief. - **Reply**: the response boosts the original post in every engagement-ranked feed, amplifying reach far beyond what silence would have allowed. Even a perfect rebuttal feeds the algorithm that surfaced the lie. This is why social platforms reward provocateurs: they convert correction into distribution. The law that helps you find truth in a wiki becomes an attack vector on a feed. ## References - ## Related - [[Ward Cunningham]]