The tech and culture magazine WIRED may have just given us the latest example of the infamous Streisand effect.
After publishing articles about an internal database allegedly kept by Madison Square Garden Entertainment that included information about roughly 40,000 VIP guests (including sexual orientation and gender identity for a small number of profiles), the company sued the magazine and several journalists for defamation. The information comes from a much larger cache of internal company documents, emails, and other records that were released in June 2026 by the hacker group ShinyHunters, as reported by the New York Times. WIRED has denied the allegations, saying its reporting is factually accurate.
The legal dispute has since generated widespread online discussion, with many social media users suggesting the lawsuit may have drawn even more attention to the reporting than it otherwise would have received. If that's what happened, some suggest the lawsuit may become an example of the Streisand effect — but what exactly is that, and what does beloved singer and actress Barbara Streisand have to do with it?
What Is the Streisand Effect?
According to Britannica, the Streisand effect is a phenomenon in which trying to hide, censor, or suppress information instead makes it more visible. Researchers have long noted that censorship can backfire, especially when people perceive that a powerful individual or organization is trying to silence criticism or restrict access to information.
Researchers think several factors may be at play. Attempts to suppress information can spark more curiosity, encouraging people to seek it out for themselves. Common examples include banned books that become bestsellers as well as when censored websites generate higher viewership.
They can also provoke backlash, particularly when the public views the censorship as unfair or heavily handed. The internet has amplified the phenomenon, allowing stories to spread rapidly once they become the focus of public attention.
Read More: Why We Sometimes Avoid the Truth — and Other Times Can’t Stop Seeking It
How Did the Phenomenon Get Its Name?
The effect is much older than the internet and earned its name from an incident involving singer and actress Barbra Streisand.
In 2003, Streisand sued photographer Kenneth Adelman for $50 million after he published an aerial photograph of the California coastline that happened to include her mansion. The image was one of more than 12,000 coastal photographs created for a nonprofit documentation project.
Ironically, before the story gained traction, the image had reportedly been downloaded only six times, including twice by Streisand's own lawyers. Once news of the legal action spread, however, hundreds of thousands of people viewed the photograph, and it quickly spread across the web. Streisand ultimately lost the case and was ordered to pay Adelman's legal fees, while the image of her house went viral — leading to the exact opposite of her intentions.
The term "Streisand effect" itself wasn't coined until 2005 when Techdirt founder Mike Masnick used it to describe another failed attempt to suppress online information.
Other Examples of the Streisand Effect
The Streisand effect has since been cited in a wide range of situations. In 2012, for example, a U.K. court ordered internet service providers to block access to the file-sharing website The Pirate Bay. Instead, media coverage surrounding the ruling was followed by a surge in visits to the site.
A year later, France's domestic intelligence agency reportedly pressured the French-language Wikipedia to remove an article about a military facility. The controversy attracted widespread attention, and the article went on to become one of the most-viewed pages on the French version of Wikipedia.
Whether the dispute between WIRED and Madison Square Garden ultimately joins that list remains to be seen. But if the lawsuit ends up bringing more readers to the reporting than it would have attracted on its own, it may become another reminder that trying to bury information can sometimes have the opposite effect.
Read More: People Can Overestimate Their Abilities, Something Known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect
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