The Streisand Effect Strikes Again: Wikipedia, Court Orders, and Caesar DePaço’s Vanishing Act
What happens when you try to scrub your online reputation—by legal force—from the world’s encyclopedia? If you guessed “everyone suddenly gets very interested in your dirty laundry,” you already understand the Streisand Effect. This week, the internet witnessed a textbook case as Wikipedia complied with a Portuguese court order to remove controversial details from the biography of businessman Caesar DePaço… and then promptly hung a giant, neon sign over the gap.
It’s a masterclass in “malicious compliance”—doing exactly what you’re told, but in the most compliant, least helpful way imaginable. But as Reddit’s r/MaliciousCompliance community gleefully dissected, the plot only thickens from there.