Some 20 odd years ago, photographer Kenneth Adelman had the surprise of receiving a lawsuit from American singer Barbra Streisand for accidentally publishing online photos of the diva’s luxurious Malibu estate while documenting the erosion of California’s coastline.

The now-famous photo had gone fairly unnoticed — until the lawsuit made it public, it had been downloaded only six times, including twice by Streisand’s attorneys. A month later, more than 400,000 people had visited Adelman’s website, as news of the lawsuit had gone viral around the world.

What scholars today call the “Streisand effect” is now taught in universities around the globe as an example of what not to do in public relations if you want something to remain under the radar.

A similar phenomenon could be observed this week in Quebec politics with Liberal Leader Charles Milliard’s response to his Parti Québécois counterpart Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s attempt to tie the Quebec Liberal Party’s funding to organized crime.

As outrageous as PSPP’s comments may be, Milliard should have simply dismissed his opponent’s allegations as ridiculous and unfounded — which they are, until otherwise supported by substantial evidence — and move on. Within a matter of hours, most people would have........

© Montreal Gazette