The Mandela effect refers to a phenomenon in which a large number of people share a particular false memory. Need to know more? Learn about the term Streisand effect and find real-life examples of its use. The name is now applied to cases in which this happens, especially when it involves a celebrity.

As a result of her legal action, Streisand unintentionally created much more interest in the photos than if she had done nothing. This term was coined by writer Mike Masnick in 2005 and is named after singer Barbra Streisand, who in 2003 attempted to have photographs of her home removed from an online research gallery. The Streisand effect refers to a phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or censor something causes that thing to get more attention than it would have otherwise. Here are several examples of “effects”-some already well-known and some increasingly part of the cultural dialogue-that may help to explain (and to easily refer to) various strange workings of human minds and behavior. In the context of psychology, these “things that happen”-these phenomena-are often referred to as effects, especially in the specific names that have been given to them by the researchers who observe and study them. You know that thing that happens when you first learn about something and then you start seeing it everywhere? Or when participants in a medical trial start to feel better even though they’ve been taking the pill with nothing in it? Helpfully, there are names for these things.

What is the mandela effect