The Streisand Effect

The Streisand effect describes what happens when you try to censor or suppress information: it draws attention to it.

It’s named Streisand after Barbara Streisand tried to have an aerial photo of her house removed from a set of California coastline photos intended to document coastal erosion. Views of the photo apparently went from 6 to 420,000.

The Streisand Effect as a term was coined by Mike Masnick

Published 28 Jan 2018

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The law of unintended consequences

Eponym

The Diderot Effect

People are complicated. Life is complicated. Ecosystems are complicated. And despite our best efforts or intentions, we have a remarkable history of messing things up in unexpected ways. One simple theory for why this may be is that unintended consequences are likely to happen whenever we try to regulate a complex system by using a simple system. This so often happens in any kind of large-scale or government attempt to control something within a complex system using relatively simple programs, regulations, laws, policies or other actions. Things will happen that we didn’t anticipate. Examples abound: A policy of suppressing forest fires that goes on to cause even greater fires. An attempt to reduce traffic in Bogotá by restricting who could drive each day based on licence plates that led people to simply buy more cars. More open workplaces that cause people to behave more privately: the transparency paradox. Elimination of predators that leads to the proliferation of grazing animals and a reduction in diversity. The effects of literally any dam built anywhere. What happens when you change software. Desire paths The Streisand effect The Diderot effect Or social distancing policies that results in outdoor natural spaces being crammed with people at weekends. And on, and on. Often, as with some of these, the outcome can be the opposite of what you intended, known as the cobra effect. Controlling complex systems is difficult.…People are complicated. Life is complicated. Ecosystems are complicated. And despite our best efforts or intentions, we have a remarkable history of messing things up in unexpected ways. One simple theory for why this may be is that unintended consequences are likely to happen whenever we try to regulate a complex system by using a simple system. This so often happens in any kind of large-scale or government attempt to control something within a complex system using relatively simple programs, regulations, laws, policies or other actions. Things will happen that we didn’t anticipate. Examples abound: A policy of suppressing forest fires that goes on to cause even greater fires. An attempt to reduce traffic in Bogotá by restricting who could drive each day based on licence plates that led people to simply buy more cars. More open workplaces that cause people to behave more privately: the transparency paradox. Elimination of predators that leads to the proliferation of grazing animals and a reduction in diversity. The effects of literally any dam built anywhere. What happens when you change software. Desire paths The Streisand effect The Diderot effect Or social distancing policies that results in outdoor natural spaces being crammed with people at weekends. And on, and on. Often, as with some of these, the outcome can be the opposite of what you intended, known as the cobra effect. Controlling complex systems is difficult.

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