The Streisand Effect
Origin
In 2003 Barbra Streisand sued a coastal-erosion photographer for $50M after discovering her Malibu mansion in his photo project. Pre-lawsuit downloads: 6 (2 by her lawyers). One month after: 420,000. Mike Masnick of Techdirt named the phenomenon in 2005. The cruelest paradox of the internet age.
Meaning
A celebrity sues over a negative article; the article becomes the headline. A company demands a review be removed; the review trends on SNS. A politician tries to bury an old statement; the statement resurrects. The internet has an allergic reaction to suppression itself.
Lesson — Meeting Eastern Classics
Analects 7.36: "A gentleman is composed and serene; a petty man is always anxious." The gentleman has nothing to hide. The Streisand Effect is the tragedy of those who hide — concealment becomes advertisement.
"隱" combines hill (阝) with caution (㥯) — to hide behind a hill. Analects: "Heaven says nothing, yet the four seasons proceed and ten thousand things grow." True 隱 needs no action. Those who hide through action are revealed more loudly.
