Streisand effect

/STRY-sand ih-FEKT/ · noun · Hacker Culture · Origin: 2005

Definitions

  1. The phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor information has the unintended consequence of increasing public awareness of that information. Named after Barbra Streisand's 2003 lawsuit to suppress aerial photographs of her Malibu mansion, which inadvertently drew 420,000 visitors to the image she wanted removed. The effect has become a foundational concept in understanding online information dynamics and content moderation.

    In plain English: When trying to hide something on the internet backfires spectacularly, making way more people see it than would have otherwise.

    Example: "The company sent a DMCA takedown to one blog. Classic Streisand effect — now it's on the front page of Reddit and three news outlets."

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