What Is the Streisand Effect?

The Streisand Effect is a social phenomenon where an attempt to suppress, remove, or censor information has the unintended consequence of publicizing it far more widely than it ever would have been on its own.

The act of trying to hide something signals to the public that something interesting or important is being concealed. This triggers curiosity, media coverage, and mass sharing, creating a viral loop that the original actor almost always makes worse by pushing harder.

In short: the louder you say 'don't look here,' the more people look.