The ‘Streisand effect’ was promoted on Whale Oil recently as a way of extending a smear campaign against Clarke Gayford.
The Streisand effect is a phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information which has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely, usually facilitated by the Internet.
Forcing targets into a ‘Streisand effect’ seems to be one of their favoured tactics. Yesterday ‘SB’ helpfully described it:
Using the court system to try to silence journalists has sadly become more and more common these days. While legal jihad does have a ‘chilling effect’ on other journalists it also brings to the public’s attention the facts and allows the journalist (while defending themselves) to keep the facts in the public eye for a much longer time than they previously could have.
Admittedly this comes at a great emotional and financial cost but the person putting them through the ordeal is one hundred percent responsible for creating the ‘Streisand effect’ and ensuring that what they wanted hidden will be spread far and wide.
And typically trying to absolve themselves of responsibility and blame the target of the smears.
However trying to generate a ‘Streisand effect’ has risks of backfiring. Keeping dirty smear tactics in the public eye is not going to do anything to protect any reputation that WO may still have, let alone repair substantial damage already done.
There are a couple of things that may get attention over the next few months that could highlight WO hypocrisy and the potential for own goals when trying to provoke a ‘Streisand effect’.
Hypocritical because I know of number of attempts by WO to attack and silence other media and then suppress the details. The attempted hack of The Standard is one – Slater’s attempt to keep that suppressed created attention and highlighted his double standards,
There’s more to emerge that would reveal further attempts to use suppression to keep a gag on targets while trying to shut them up – while running parallel public smear campaigns. That has turned out to be a farce that will be embarrassing when it receives the public scrutiny it deserves.
There’s another case pending where a ‘Streisand effect’ may be attempted, along the lines that SB has described, and that could easily backfire. But they may be dumb enough to keep trying it anyway.
Once credibility and reputations have gone dirty then mud slinging can be like pissing in the wind.
Gerrit
/ 22nd May 2018Not sure why you are so concerned about WO.
Do you think his/her influence has reach?
Place like the Standard or Daily Blog all peddle the Steisand effect. Nothing new. Heard the stories about Paula Bennett recently?
Even the MSM peddle gossip in the hope of cultivating sales. Heard that Markle is pregnant as peddled by the Herald? Or the disaster that is her family?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12055957
Same crap, different media format. The world is awash with it. We need to develop better filters to cleanse ourselves of false/fake news.
Traveller
/ 22nd May 2018Pete.
Can I just say this as an Aucklander and (like many others)one who has contacts within the entertainment/associated industries. You cannot close down talk about a public personality’s reputation, especially when have a twenty year history in same. Gayford has and is socially ubiquitous and has courted publicity actively. With the new platform given him he’s simply reminded everybody whoever interacted with him of the nature of many of these interactions. He’s not and has never been a wallflower or recluse, he’s lived his life to the full and met many tens of thousands of people.
IMHO it was stupid to go as far as Labour did, hauling in the Police Commissioner. The effect, as expected, has been that the “target” has had their life even further analysed – every aspect gone over with a fine tooth comb.
Nothing anyone says can stop the chat. It’s possible he might need to take someone to court to shut mouths down as they’re still yapping wildly.
PDB
/ 22nd May 2018The main rumour has been debunked, backed up by the fact the people peddling it have stopped doing so since and have now gone back to looking into the Labour youth camp saga.
Blazer
/ 22nd May 2018the relentless search for dirt….as opposed to any positive policy,an unfortunate hallmark…of the…right.
traveller
/ 22nd May 2018Pete. I’m not talking beltway at all. I’m talking book clubs, tennis clubs and down at the pub. The ones I hear this are not the ones remotely interested in the Youth Camp.
The so-called main rumour is barely the tip of what was and still is a veritable iceberg of endless chat. Everyone, it seems, has done this and that with him and they don’t talk stamp collecting and nights in by the tele watching The Chase.
Blazer
/ 22nd May 2018so what difference does this malicious gossip make to the governance of this country?
The B team are impotent and desperate…Mr Bridges will be delighted with your efforts.
High Flying Duck
/ 22nd May 2018Wow, dancing to a very different tune these days, are’t you Blazer. Good to see rumours shouldn’t be given any credence now. What changed?
Grimm
/ 22nd May 2018There’s a prettier goat trip trapping over his bridge.
Gezza
/ 22nd May 2018Nobody I know down here knows anything about it or is even remotely interested in finding out what Gayford smears are being pushed around troll twitter feeds & blogsites by those who enjoy that sort of thing & hope it will damage Ardern.
Who exactly are the muckrakers doing the chatting, trav? You seem to be in thick of it? Can you drop a few names maybe?
traveller
/ 22nd May 2018Auckland, as we’re aways told is like a separate country, but it is a very small city as far as cities go. Nobody would bother about him but for the incongruity of him (to some minds) as our First Man, partner to Ms Ardern. Burton Shipley or Dennis Thatcher he aint and people up here are still getting used to that and will gabble on until such time as they don’t.
Gezza
/ 22nd May 2018Very odd behaviour. Obviously a shortage of psychiatrists in Auckland. Doesn’t seem to be afflicting Wellingtonians to this extent.
Mind you, the Glitterati in Welly ARE a lot more cultured & refined than the Entertainment Tonight, Blogmeisters & Talk Show Host trash up there, generally speaking. 😕
Kitty Catkin
/ 22nd May 2018I don’t think that anyone is now or ever was that interested in this non-event.
I do wonder if Labourites were flogging it to try to make it seem like a much more important issue than it was and make him seem like a more important person than he really is….how many of us would recognise him in the street or were that fascinated by the possibility that he had a conviction and spent time wondering what it was ?
duperez
/ 22nd May 2018Who exactly are the muckrakers? Those without lives to lead whose existence is dependent on and will be justified by thinking they have influenced the life of someone they think has the influence they want for themselves?
artcroft
/ 22nd May 2018Watch out for updates on the Sabin case. The Oily Orca is certain this will destroy Key.
Kitty Catkin
/ 22nd May 2018He’s well named Slater, creeping out of the woodwork. What a wally the man (sic) is.
Blazer
/ 22nd May 2018tell him Key is off and…gone!
Blazer
/ 22nd May 2018I see Key is back in politics,fronting up to support Nationals woeful candidate in the by election.
Gezza
/ 22nd May 2018JK’s probably as safe as houses then.
Why are you saying this?
Do you got a link?
artcroft
/ 22nd May 2018Just pointing out the past lies and misinformation that Slater has posted in the past. Slater alleged that he knew all the details of the Mike Sabin affair, which had been suppressed. These details were so terrible that Key and National would be destroyed when they inevitably surfaced. Sabin went, not to prison but a job at a golf course, while Key stayed on as PM for two more years. The point being: Ignore Slater. He’s wrong/lying.
This is why I also think Trump will fail. He’s wrong and lying.
Gezza
/ 23rd May 2018Ok. Now worries. You’re talkin sense here arty. First post just needed a sarc or wink icon. 😉
Gezza
/ 23rd May 2018🙄 * No worries.