There is a phenomenon called the Streisand Effect. The general idea is that, in trying to suppress or censor unwanted content, a company or person accidentally shines a light on what they’re trying to hide. Sometimes, the backfired plot to delete the offending information results in an even greater level of attention than if it had been left alone.
The “Streisand Effect” was coined by Mike Masnick of Techdirt in 2005 in the aftermath of Barbra Streisand’s botched lawsuit against photographer Kenneth Adelman. Kenneth had taken an aerial photo of the coast where the Streisand mansion is perched, as part of California Coastal Records Project. The project was intended to document coastal erosion, but Barbra took offense, suing Kenneth and Pictopia.com for $50 million for violation of privacy. The suit was dismissed, and Barbra had to pay Kenneth’s $177,000 in legal fees.
Before the lawsuit, nobody cared or even really knew about the California Coastal Records Project. The image featuring Barbra’s mansion, pictured below, was viewed only six times before the suit. After the suit, Kenneth’s site was viewed more than 420,000 times. In other words, in trying to suppress Kenneth, she made things only worse for herself.
This is relevant because Chinese automaker BYD is up to similar shenanigans. As Matt wrote, BYD threatened to sue us, claiming copyright infringement, because we thought the images with the BYD/Denza collab with Daniel Craig looked weird. Well, here we go! FormerTXJeepGuy:
Oh, now they care about copyrights?
Brad the Slacker:
Ironic a Chinese company is threatening someone about copyright infringement.
Sid Bridge:
BYD Attorney: Why did you say Mr. Craig looked weird in our ads?
MH: Because he looked weird.
BYD Attorney: Your honor, do you think Mr. Craig looks weird in these ads?
Judge: Approach the bench please.
BYD Attorney: Yes your honor.
Judge: He looks weird as ****. Ruling is for the defense. Case dismissed.
Rippstik:
I see some new James Bond Films arriving soon:
The Copyright is Not Enough
Never Say Instagram Again
License to Post
From China with Love
You Only Post Twice
Jay Vette:
Octoposty.
Spikedlemon:
Dr No. (Starring Matt Hardigree).
Beto O’Kitty:
Post it on “Craigslist” and really piss them off!
Avalanche Tremor:
“That’s strange, when we push that button at home the journalists are instantly erased from the internet and never heard from again. How are they able to send a moving picture back to us? Is this broken?”
Carbon Fiber Sasquatch:
We put this media out for publications to use. Wait, no not like that! Stop it or I’m telling mom! -BYD Europe
Why does it seem like more and more that everything is being run by twelve year olds?
Dogisbadob:
LOL a Chinese company suing for copyright shit.
You know how many people want to countersue them?
In other news, Brian wrote about a poor Chevy Trailblazer that lost its roof. JoeyJoJoJuniorShabadoo:
I think you forgot to write the rest of this Shitbox Showdown, but just go ahead and count my vote for the other vehicle.
Have a great evening, everyone!
Top graphic image: BYD
I was wondering aloud the other day, whether the Afroman vs the sheriff situation was the best example of the Streisand Effect of all time. Just seemed like the peak of the phenomenon.
But then I remembered that every single time something like this happens, it’s referred to as The Streisand Effect, and that in nearly every article (like this one) it gets re-explained and inevitably, an aerial picture of her mansion is reposted, lol. It’s an infinite loop that keeps on giving me lols. So I suppose in this case, the original is always the best.
Nothing in the news has ever made me smile as much as the Afroman case. I’ve had Lemon Pound Cake looping in my head for weeks.
And he didn’t even have to try lol. It’s just a parody of “Down by the Boardwalk”. But with a cop eyeballing a cake. Lol.
I definitely went down a rabbit hole of Youtube videos of the proceedings. I don’t think I’ve had that much fun with a news story this decade.
It was incredibly short-sighted. The guy’s trolling all of you…in what universe would suing him go well for you? Just keep digging that hole deeper, you’re only going to unearth more songwriting material.
In 2026, people just seem entirely unwilling to shut up and take the L.
Yay I made COTD 😀
And for BYD and Streisand, any press is good press, right? 😛
That is a big F-ing house!
As a teen/college student, I thought the Streisand effect was about Mecha-Streisand and how much she hated it, which just drew attention to it. What’s funny is that the South Park episode predates the whole Malibu incident by seven years.
I too thought the same thing back then, lol.
An intentional Streisand effect would be ingenious viral marketing but I’m never one to assume such a gambit where foolishness fits the bill
Honestly, this is some serious free publicity for BYD, and it gets photos of their cars everywhere.
This is far far better than Elon publicly calling people pedo.
That’s why I used a picture of an old BYD e6. Nice try, BYD!
It’s a handsome car; very Mazda5.
I bet it would look like a real factory job with the roof cut off…
/s