--- title: Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law description: Refuting a lie costs far more than telling it. Learn to operate above the claim with 21 video lessons, 21 worksheets and a 40-source library. Up to 12 CPE. canonical_url: https://www.treadstone71.com/training/narrative-defense-under-brandolinis-law language: en-GB date: 2026-11-10T14:46:09Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://www.treadstone71.com/training/narrative-defense-under-brandolinis-law. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers. markdown-tokens: 2625 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://www.treadstone71.com/training/narrative-defense-under-brandolinis-law. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. UNCLASSIFIED // TREADSTONE 71 // NARRATIVE DEFENSE TRAINING Training // Cognitive Warfare // Self-Paced On-Demand # Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law A lie costs seconds. The correction costs hours. Every communications desk, counterintelligence cell and trust and safety team lives inside one ratio: refuting a false claim takes far more effort than making it. Fight claim by claim and the math beats you. Treadstone 71 teaches you to operate above the claim, where defensive effort earns a return. 21 VIDEO LESSONS21 WORKSHEETS40-SOURCE LIBRARYUP TO 12 CPE The exchange rate 10× Brandolini's rule of thumb: refuting nonsense takes an order of magnitude more energy than producing it. **$1,199***UP TO 12 CPE* About 8 CPE for the video and assessment core. Up to 12 with every worksheet complete. **21**video lessons **7**sections **21**worksheets **40**linked sources **12**CPE, maximum Interactive // The exchange rate ## Watch the math decide the fight. An adversary pushes claims into an audience at the speed of a post. Your team answers at the speed of research. Run it claim by claim, then switch to operating above the claim and watch the cost move. False claimCorrectionPriority audienceAudience 0Claims pushed 0Corrections sent **0%**Audience reached **0 : 1**Defender hours per attacker hour Illustrative model, not field data. Each claim costs the attacker 6 minutes. Answering one costs the defender an hour, the 10-to-1 ratio Brandolini named. Claim by claim, the team owes an answer to every claim. Above the claim, the team spends 20 hours up front on a pre-bunked frame, then answers only breaches that reach priority audience nodes. Sections 3 to 5 of the course teach that approach. What you will be able to do ## Stop chasing claims. Start pricing them. 01 ### Explain the losing trade Show why one-to-one debunking loses and where analyst effort earns the most belief. 02 ### Read the carrier Map how emotion, identity and repetition carry a false claim further than its facts. 03 ### Answer the weight Respond to a narrative's overall weight instead of chasing each point inside it. 04 ### Set a threshold Build a response threshold, a triage method and a rhythm your team sustains for months. 05 ### Speak as one voice Pick high-value targets, coordinate across teams and platforms, and measure belief change. 06 ### Drill it Run the plan through simulation and role play, then tighten it after every exercise. 07 ### Make it last Write a long-term defense plan that scales, and keep a habit of deliberate practice. Curriculum ## Seven sections. Twenty-one lessons. Every lesson ships as a narrated video with a worksheet. Pick a section to see its lessons. Who enrolls ## Built for the people who answer back. Intelligence and counterintelligence analysts Strategic communication and public affairs Trust and safety, brand protection OSINT and threat intelligence Policy advisors and crisis-response leads Election integrity and information resilience No special background required. The methods work against any hostile narrative, from any source, and the course takes no partisan side. Enrollment is open to students in the United States, NATO and EU member states, and allied nations, and Treadstone 71 verifies every enrollment. Train the team. Then test it. ## From the course to the live fight. The course builds the skill. Treadstone 71 services put that skill under pressure against your own organization's story. [STEP 1 // LEARN### Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law Self-paced course. 21 lessons, 21 worksheets, a 40-source library. $1,199, up to 12 CPE. ENROLL ON THE TRAINING CENTER →](https://www.cyberinteltrainingcenter.com/p/narrative-defense-under-brandolini-s-law) [STEP 2 // EXERCISE### Narrative Threat Emulation: 1-Day Sprint A red cell runs adversary narratives against your business for one workday. Your Blue Cell of 10 to 20 detects, attributes and counters, then briefs leadership with an after-action report. SEE THE SPRINT →](https://www.treadstone71.com/narrative-threat-emulation-1-day-sprint) [STEP 3 // INOCULATE### Strategic Narrative Inoculation Sprint Ten business days before a milestone such as an M&A closing: stakeholder vulnerability mapping, adversary vector modeling, pre-bunking assets and a 14-day narrative sentinel. $28,000 fixed fee. SEE THE INOCULATION SPRINT →](https://www.treadstone71.com/services/narrative-innoculation-sprint) [STEP 4 // WATCH### Cognitive Warfare Monitor Ongoing watch on the narratives aimed at your organization, so the next wave arrives on your clock instead of theirs. SEE THE MONITOR →](https://www.treadstone71.com/cognitive-warfare-monitor) Go deeper ## Services, tools and training that pair with it. ### Services ### Decision tools ### Training Your instructor ## Jeff Bardin FOUNDER AND CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, TREADSTONE 71 Fourteen years of US military service across the Air Force and Army, enlisted and officer: cryptologic linguist, then armored scout platoon leader. Builder of the cyber intelligence, cyber counterintelligence and cybercrime programs at Utica University. Author of **The Mind Domain** and **Tradecraft at Machine Speed**. [Full bio](https://www.treadstone71.com/jeff-bardin) · [About Treadstone 71](https://www.treadstone71.com/about/about-t71) · [Why Treadstone 71](https://www.treadstone71.com/why-treadstone-71) Treadstone 71 Woman-owned, veteran-led cyber and strategic intelligence training and consulting since 2002. Clients include critical infrastructure operators across the United States, Europe, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East. Team seats, private cohorts or the full catalog for your organization: [contact Treadstone 71](https://www.treadstone71.com/t71-contact-form) or see [Subscription Training Services](https://www.treadstone71.com/training/subscription). FAQ ## Questions answered. What is Brandolini's Law?A rule of thumb Italian software developer Alberto Brandolini stated in 2013: the energy needed to refute nonsense runs an order of magnitude above the energy needed to produce it. Brandolini's Law is a heuristic, not a measured constant, and the course treats it that way. Who is the course for?Intelligence and counterintelligence analysts, strategic communication and public affairs staff, trust and safety teams, OSINT practitioners, policy advisors, crisis-response leads, and election-integrity teams. What background do I need?None beyond working experience with information, communications or analysis. The course builds from the ratio itself to a full defense plan. How is the course delivered?Self-paced and on demand through the Treadstone 71 Cyber Intelligence Training Center: 21 narrated video lessons across seven sections, a worksheet for every lesson, and a resources library of about 40 linked sources. Does the course carry CPE?Yes. About 8 CPE for the video and assessment core, and up to 12 with every worksheet complete. Treadstone 71 issues a certificate of completion for you to report to your certifying body, such as ISC2 or ISACA. Is the methodology partisan?No. The methods apply to any hostile narrative regardless of source, sponsor or politics. How does the course connect to Treadstone 71 services?The course trains individuals. The Narrative Threat Emulation 1-Day Sprint exercises a whole team against a live red cell, and the Strategic Narrative Inoculation Sprint protects a specific milestone. Many clients train first, then exercise. Narrative Defense Under Brandolini's Law ## Change the exchange rate. $1,199. Up to 12 CPE. Self-paced, with a worksheet for every lesson. ```json { "@context": "http:\/\/schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "author": { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https:\/\/www.treadstone71.com\/#person-jeffbardin", "name": "Jeff Bardin", "url": "https:\/\/www.treadstone71.com\/jeff-bardin" }, "dateModified": "2026-11-10T14:46:09Z", "datePublished": "2026-10-29T21:37:15Z", "description": "Refuting a lie costs far more than telling it. Learn to operate above the claim with 21 video lessons, 21 worksheets and a 40-source library. 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