Streisand Effect: You Cannot Hide Your Ugly Secrets

The Streisand effect is the unintended consequence in attempt to hide, remove, or censor information. It’s when you try to hide something but only generate more public awareness of the information as a result. The term originates from Barbra Streisand’s attempt to suppress the publication of a photograph of her clifftop residence in Malibu. This effect is a keystone example of psychological reactance: the human tendency to find information that is being kept from you more interesting and valuable.

The attempt to suppress information can backfire in a way where it receives extensive publicity. Videos and spoof songs are created. Files are shared. The scandal is publicized. Barbra Streisand sued the photographer who exposed her mansion for 50 million dollars for violating her privacy. The lawsuit was, of course, dismissed, and Streisand paid the photographer’s attorney’s legal fees for her adult gimmicks — a measly 177-thousand dollars. Once the case was made public, over 420,000 people visited her little vacation home.

Barbra’s case now acts as a cautionary tale to everyone in the public eye, especially lawyers, legislators, politicians, and celebrities: trying to repress something you don’t like online is likely to make it go viral. In her 2023 autobiography, Streisand wrote, “My issue was never with the photo.. it was about the use of my name attached to the photo.” But this isn’t a Barbra Streisand, celebrity exclusive. For example, the French intelligence agency tried to delete the French Wikipedia article about a military radio station. The result? It became the most-viewed page on the French Wikipedia for a while.

In 2013, a BuzzFeed article showed photos of Beyonce at the Super Bowl of that year in unflattering poses and faces. Of course, her publicist contacted BuzzFeed, politely asking them to remove the images not to screw with her brand. What did BuzzFeed do? They republished the images, making them much more well-known across the internet. In 2024, Drake filed a lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us” — a diss track against Drake. The song’s sales spiked by 440 percent afterward and surged in several charts. There are countless such cases. The lesson stays the same: when you, your team, or your organization tries to suppress information, the act triggers curiosity and media attention, and may make the information spread even more widely.

Real-life implications of the Streisand effect:

• Barbra Streisand Incident: the term “Streisand effect” originated from an incident with Barbra Streisand. She tried to suppress aerial photos of her mansion in Malibu in 2003. Her lawsuit led to a spike in media attention, causing the photos to spread like wildfire.

• Governmental Censorship: in many cases, governments attempting to censor political dissent or controversy have inadvertently drawn even more attention to the banned material, prompting international debate and protest.

• Corporate PR Crises: when companies try to remove negative customer feedback or hide product defects, social media users and watchdog groups quickly jump on the issue and amplify it, resulting in a PR crisis that exceeds the original problem.

• Social Media: attempts to de-platform or censor controversial content on internet platforms often result in a surge of interest. Efforts to remove content on one platform generally result in its spread on alternative platforms and day-to-day conversation.

How you might use the Streisand effect as a mental model: (1) assess how risky censorship is — before you try to hide something, consider whether censorship might result in a backlash that amplifies the content; (2) stay transparent — in situations where negative information is likely to be spilled, being transparent mitigates the risk of amplifying the problem by addressing it head-on, like by acknowledging a mistake instead of having it found and blamed on you; (3) understand public curiosity — hidden stuff triggers a desire to access it, thus its best to preemptively explain things and stay open; (4) plan for the virus — digital content is contagious, rapid, and uncontrollable, so be especially careful in internet-based spaces; (5) learn from history — look at past cases of censorship backfiring and use that as a lesson to guide your strategy when handling sensitive information.