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What is the “Streisand effect”?

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The “Streisand effect” is a phenomenon in which an attempt to censor or hide something inadvertently draws more attention to it. It originated from Barbra Streisand’s 2003 lawsuit to remove a photo of her home that had been posted on the Internet, which led to increased public attention of the photo.