streisand-effect (dragged) 3
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The University of Sydney *
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Communications
Date
Nov 24, 2024
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Name: _____________________________
Nonfiction Reading Test
The Streisand Effect
Directions:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Refer to the text
to check your answers when appropriate.
The California Coastal Records Project formed in
2002. Its founders, Kenneth and Gabrielle
Adelman, took aerial photos of the coastline. They
wanted to document erosion. They posted these
pictures on their website. In 2003, famous singer
Barbara Streisand sued the Adelmans for 50
million dollars.
Barbara Streisand sued the Adelmans because they
posted a photo of her Malibu home. She and her
lawyers felt that this violated her privacy. The
image with Streisand's home is known as "Image
3850." Streisand and her lawyers demanded that
the Adelmans remove "Image 3850." The
Adelmans did not comply. They countersued
Streisand.
Before Streisand filed suit, "Image 3850" had only
been downloaded six times. Two of those
downloads were from Streisand's own attorneys.
Almost no one in the world had seen "Image
3850" until the lawsuit became a media story. In
the next month, people viewed "Image 3850" more
than 420,000 times. Streisand's attempt to protect
her privacy had backfired.
Streisand tried to suppress something on the
Internet. Trying to hide information from people
on the Internet often creates greater interest. This
social phenomenon is now known as the Streisand
effect. When people feel that information is being
kept from them, this motivates them to access it.
Almost no one wanted to view photos of
Streisand's home, until they learned that she didn't
want them to see it.
Image 3850
Copyright (C) 2002 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman,
California Coastal Records Project,
www.californiacoastline.org
Imagine that you are sitting in your classroom. The
teacher whispers something in your classmate's
ear. The student's eyes widened with surprise.
Don't you want to know what the teacher said?
Imagine that the teacher pointed out the window
and said, "Don't look over there!" You might be
motivated to do the opposite. This is called
psychological reactance. The Streisand effect
works in this way.
Streisand failed to limit peoples' access to "Image
3850." Spectacularly. And she lost in court too.
Her lawsuit was dismissed and she was ordered to
pay the Adelman's legal fees. This amounted to
$155,567. Was there a better way for her to have
minimized the loss of her privacy? How should
she have responded to the Adelman's website?
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