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Who really said it

You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules

Not Bob Marley — an unsourced modern saying Unknown Popularized online in the 2010s–2020s · no documented author
Disputed Rights unconfirmed

There is no record of Bob Marley writing or saying this in any song, interview, or documented statement. Wikiquote files it under “Misattributed” ↗, noting it spread on protest signs and social-media posts. The true originator is unknown.

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

Put it on a slide

Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules” Attributed to Bob Marley, but misattributed — no documented source exists in any of his songs, interviews, or writings. Origin unknown.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Bob Marley. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.

Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool

In context

Evoking the world of Bob Marley — Jamaican reggae musician & songwriter. Theme: "You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

What the record shows

Claimed author
Bob Marley (1945–1981)
Documented source
None — not in any song, interview, or writing
Status
Misattributed (per Wikiquote)
Circulation
Protest signs & social media, 2010s–2020s

You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules.

Also circulated as “…where criminals make the laws” and “You can never get justice…” — the drifting wording is itself a hallmark of an unsourced internet quote rather than a fixed line from a real work.

Bob Marley on Wikiquote (Misattributed section)

How we verified this

  • The line appears in Wikiquote’s “Misattributed” section for Bob Marley ↗, which notes it was “seen on protest signs and social media posts” with no source in his work.
  • No verified Marley song lyric or interview contains this sentence; it is absent from the sourced portion of his Wikiquote entry ↗.
  • The wording is unstable across posts — “find justice” vs “get justice,” “rules” vs “laws” — as seen across social-media reshares ↗, consistent with an anonymous aphorism, not a quotation from a fixed text.

Because the wording cannot be tied to any identifiable work or author, no copyright status can be responsibly asserted. It is treated here as an anonymous modern saying of unknown origin, not a published, datable text.

Fact-check

How Bob Marley got the credit

Bob Marley is one of the internet’s favourite magnets for punchy political and feel-good lines he never said. This anti-corruption epigram rides his reputation as a voice against oppression, but no primary source connects it to him.

Bob Marley Misattributed

Wikiquote lists it under “Misattributed” ↗ with no source, noting it appeared on protest signs and social-media posts rather than in any of his songs or interviews.

No fixed original Drifting text

Versions swap “find” for “get” and “rules” for “laws” across countless reshares ↗ — a telltale sign of an anonymous saying passed hand to hand, not a line quoted from a real work.

The sentiment is real and widely shared, but the attribution is not: there is no documented Bob Marley source for it, and Wikiquote flags it as misattributed ↗.

Context

Why the line sticks to Marley

Marley’s catalogue — Get Up, Stand Up, Redemption Song, Rebel Music — made him shorthand for standing against a corrupt establishment. A sharp epigram about criminals making the rules slots neatly into that image, which is exactly why it attaches to him so easily and travels so far.

The quote gained fresh traction during 2010s–2020s political protests, appearing on placards and in reshares aimed at governments and figures the poster opposed. Its resonance is genuine; its provenance is not.

It sounds like something Marley would say — which is precisely why it isn’t safe to assume he did.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Justice Power

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Bob Marley — Misattributeden.wikiquote.org

Lists this line among quotes wrongly credited to Marley, with no documented source.
Bob Marley (biography)en.wikipedia.org

Background on Marley’s life, music, and political significance.
Quote Investigatorquoteinvestigator.com

Quote-origins research archive; no entry supports a Marley attribution for this line.
Carol Vorderman resharex.com

Example of a high-reach social post crediting the line to Marley without a source.

Falsely credited

The name the quote is pinned on

Bob Marley

1945–1981 · Jamaican reggae musician & songwriter

Bob Marley was the Jamaican singer-songwriter who carried reggae — and songs of resistance like Get Up, Stand Up and Redemption Song — to a global audience. His image as a voice against injustice makes him a natural magnet for pointed political one-liners he never actually wrote. This anti-corruption epigram is one of them: it matches his reputation, but not his documented words.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Earliest documented

“You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules.” Attributed to Bob Marley without source; listed as misattributed in “Bob Marley,” Wikiquote, accessed 2026. No primary Marley source located.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/you-will-never-find-justice-in-a-world-where-criminals-make

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