Have you heard of the Streisand Effect? It’s a phenomenon where a person is trying to avoid attention from the public about a specific matter, but their efforts have the exact opposite effect. Now the thing they were trying to hide has an even greater spotlight on it.
The term was coined after singer Barbara Streisand’s efforts to suppress a photo of her Malibu home in a publication about California’s coastal erosion instead drew far more public interest in the previously obscure image.
Mark Zuckerberg is the latest victim to fall prey to the Streisand Effect.
In just a few days, he announced a rollback of DEI initiatives at Meta, the sacking of fact checkers, and shared the desire to return to a more “masculine energy” in the workplace.
All of that to show his manly bona fides, and impress a certain incoming president who has a thing for macho archetypes.
The actual effect of all this posturing, unfortunately, is that we’ve all been reminded what a massive weenie Mark Zuckerberg is.
From a wardrobe that looks like he paid a high-priced stylist to not give him honest feedback, to a contrived, sniveling appeal to the manosphere, Zuckerberg is inadvertently highlighting everything a man can do to signal to the world: I am not comfortable with who I am.
@pivotpodcast "This is all such bullshit cosplaying about what a man is" Kara Swisher and @Scott Galloway break down Mark Zuckerberg's "masculine energy" and other recent "reprehensible" behavior. Listen to the full discussion on our latest episode. #pivot #podcast #markzuckerberg #masculineenergy ♬ original sound – Pivot with Kara and Scott
@girl_searching shout out to whatever PR team had successfully “rebranded” him the last 2 years and now have to deal with this fall out #zuckerberg #meta #equality #workplace ♬ OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK – jiminspogostic
Aside from the devastating implications for democracy, social media users’ safety, and the world’s supply of hair gel, the Facebook founder is finding himself on the losing end of the likability war he’s been waging on the American public since his days in a Harvard dorm room.
From qualified, hard-working Meta employees leaving to “this guy’s wife is definitely leaving him” memes, it seems like Everybody Hates Mark.
The takeaway? If you think boasting about your masculine bona fides will paper over underlying insecurity, let the 40-year-old’s embarrassing efforts dissuade you.
The Streisand Effect will have everyone you know wondering why you’re working so hard to cover up your self-doubt and lack of confidence.
Instead, work to become the kind of man who people actually look up to. Who women want to be around. Who won’t be called a “snowflake” (the irony!) and a “whiny little bitch” in the media.
