diff --git a/crates/notedeck_ui/src/note/mod.rs b/crates/notedeck_ui/src/note/mod.rs
index 323984e5..0fae0b00 100644
--- a/crates/notedeck_ui/src/note/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/notedeck_ui/src/note/mod.rs
@@ -783,7 +783,11 @@ fn render_note_actionbar(
     i18n: &mut Localization,
 ) -> egui::InnerResponse<Option<NoteAction>> {
     ui.horizontal(|ui| {
-        ui.label(RichText::new("").text_style(egui::TextStyle::Small));
+        // NOTE(jb55): without this we get a weird artifact where
+        // there subsequent lines start sinking leftward off the screen.
+        // question: WTF? question 2: WHY?
+        ui.allocate_space(egui::vec2(0.0, 0.0));
+
         ui.set_min_height(26.0);
         ui.spacing_mut().item_spacing.x = 24.0;