Facebook's Effort To Silence A Critic Is Backfiring Spectacularly

I’ve agelong known astir nan Streisand effect. But I’d ne'er watched it hap successful existent clip until past week, erstwhile nan strategies of Facebook’s genitor company, Meta, made astatine slightest 8 cardinal group ravenous to publication nan very point Meta is trying to suppress.

The arena is named for Barbra Streisand, who successful 2003 tried to person a photograph of her Malibu cliff-top mansion removed from nan net and succeeded only successful making it nan most-viewed location connected nan internet. This happens sometimes: Powerful group effort to make thing vanish and alternatively make it intolerable to ignore. Meta, a institution that knows much astir quality behaviour than possibly immoderate institution successful history, mightiness person seen this coming. It appears it did not. Because connected June 30, aft I appeared pinch nan writer and erstwhile Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams connected a British podcast, Meta sewage walloped by nan Streisand effect.

Meta has sued Wynn-Williams to forestall her from promoting “Careless People,” alleging that nan revelations she shares successful it breached her employment agreement, and they person won a impermanent ruling that bars her from speaking astir nan book. (She has countersued.) By seeking financially ruinous penalties if she disobeys, Meta itself group nan shape for a surreal viral moment.

Last week, I was successful London to thief beforehand “Nobody’s Girl,” nan memoir by Virginia Roberts Giuffre connected which I collaborated. It recounts nan life of Giuffre, who died by termination successful April 2025, and it specifications her maltreatment by Jeffrey Epstein, among others.

Wynn-Williams and I were guests during my sojourn connected nan podcast “The News Agents” — but of course, she couldn’t talk astir “Careless People” because of nan impermanent tribunal ruling. Seem awkward? It was, but our host, nan erstwhile BBC journalist Emily Maitlis — whose 2019 question and reply pinch then-Prince Andrew is simply a maestro people successful strategical interrogation — had a plan.

During nan episode, she publication aloud from a missive she’d received from Wynn-Williams’ lawyer: “I must inquire that you refrain from engaging successful immoderate speech astir Meta aliases Ms. Wynn-Williams’ book during her quality connected nan podcast.” Then Maitlis threw Wynn-Williams out.

“I really can’t judge I’m saying this,” Maitlis told her sternly, “but … I’m going to inquire you to time off nan studio. Because you cannot beryllium coming for nan speech that we now request to have.”

Maitlis and I past discussed Wynn-Williams’ book, whose themes were hauntingly acquainted to maine from Giuffre’s story.

Wynn-Williams herself had made this clear erstwhile speaking astatine nan British Book Awards successful May. She and Giuffre shared an award, but Wynn-Williams’ reside focused solely connected Giuffre’s book: “The group Virginia told america astir had grown rich | and powerful successful nan certainty they would ne'er beryllium held to account. So they deployed each limb that money tin bargain against a female whose only limb was her voice. They tried to exhaust her — to make nan costs of speaking truthful high, truthful relentless, truthful total, that yet nan tone gives retired earlier nan truth does. But here’s a unusual thing. When you effort that difficult to soundlessness a female who is telling nan truth, you denote to nan full world that nan truth must beryllium very vulnerable indeed.”

In different words: nan Streisand effect.

The podcast went unrecorded precocious connected June 30, and to date, 8.1 cardinal group person watched the teaser reel connected Instagram (ironically, owned by Meta) that features Maitlis ejecting Wynn-Williams. (Among nan much than 11,000 comments, galore publication for illustration this one: “I’m disconnected to bargain nan book NOW.”) When you harvester that number pinch nan 276,000 group who person watched the podcast section connected Youtube, and nan 252,000 who’ve listened to it connected various platforms, it’s nary astonishment that book income changeable up. In nan U.S., “Careless People” went from No. 625 connected nan Amazon bestseller database to No. 15. In nan U.K., meanwhile, nan book enjoyed its highest ever play sales, ascending from No. 97 to No. 1.

Meta group retired to forestall group from proceeding what Wynn-Williams has to say. Instead, nan institution only ensured that she reached millions of imaginable caller readers. Babs could person told them really this would end.

Amy Wallace collaborated pinch Virginia Roberts Giuffre to constitute “Nobody’s Girl.”