It’s well-known that accusing someone of unethical behavior — whether that accusation is founded or unfounded — can lead to retaliation against the accuser. Our recent research, however, suggests that in addition to this potential for negative fallout, leveling an accusation (even one with tenuous basis in reality) can also benefit the accuser in two ways: 1) even baseless accusations can plant seeds of doubt, reducing trust in the target, and 2) making accusations can signal that the accuser has high integrity, and thus boost trust in the accuser.