Nestle Discovers The Streisand Effect... But Only After Making Things Worse And Worse... And Worse

from the how-not-to-do-things dept

Fri, Mar 19th 2010 5:25pm — Mike Masnick

Earlier this week, reader Jorvay sent over the news of how food giant Nestle had massively overreacted to an (admittedly disgusting) anti-Nestle video put together by Greenpeace and posted to YouTube. The thing was, this video was getting no attention. It had less than 1,000 views... but someone who should have known better at Nestle filed a bogus copyright claim to take down the video. There is no copyright issue in the video at all, so it was a bogus takedown. Even if there had been a legit reason for the takedown, doing so only drew much more attention to the issue, and the video quickly went back up on Vimeo, where it started getting even more views, a lot of which came because of the takedown.

Okay, bad enough, right? I was going to post that story, but before I had the chance, Nestle decided to make things worse.

Because of all this new attention, a bunch of anti-Nestle people went to Nestle's Facebook group, and started posting messages that were certainly anti-Nestle. Now, there are lots of ways to respond to such things. The one thing you don't want to do is respond the way Nestle's "moderator" did. First, they threatened to delete comments from anyone using a modified Nestle's logo, claiming that this infringed on trademarks (which is an interesting claim, but unlikely to hold up in court, where countless times the use of a logo in protest has been upheld). This resulted in some pointed responses from group members, such as "It's not OK for people to use altered versions of your logos, but it's OK for you to alter the face of Indonesian rainforests? Wow!"

Nestle then didn't do itself any favors by having its moderator respond sarcastically ("Oh please...it's like we're censoring everything to allow only positive comments") and then go with the foot stomping response as well ("it's our page, we set the rules, it was ever thus.")

Eventually, Nestle admitted that it was wrong and apologized, promising that the moderator would be a lot friendlier. However, by then the damage had been done. An issue that very, very few people would have noticed turned into a huge ordeal thanks to repeated mistakes in handling them. The company attempted to stifle speech with both bogus copyright and trademark claims, and then when called on it failed to realize that it was only making things worse.

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Filed Under: copyright, streisand effect, takedowns, trademark, videos
Companies: greenpeace, nestle

42 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:03pm

Why dont they just stop buying palm oil, certainly there are alternative ingredients.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:05pm

So here's the theory. Nestle' has too many lawyers. Where I work, we don't get around to this stuff that fast. We get Alarmist Emails, then it dies down, everyone forgets about it, and it goes away. Too many lawyers. Spoken by one.
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Dan (profile), 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:17pm

Turned me off of Greenpeace
Turned me off of Greenpeace more then Nestle
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no kids?, 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:35pm

They got no...
Nuf said
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davebarnes (profile), 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:45pm

Grammar Nazi Alert
@Mike,
"It had less than 1,000 views"
fewer
views are discrete events
continuous - less
discrete - fewer
4th grade
,dave
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- Any Mouse, 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:47pm
  
  Re: Grammar Nazi Alert
  Thank you for your nonsensical post. What does this mean, anyways? Are you really that big of an ass?
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  - davebarnes (profile), 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:51pm
    
    It means that Mike should pay attenton to grammar
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2010 @ 7:21pm
      
      Re: It means that Mike should pay attenton to grammar
      sheesh
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      - Peter Garin, 19 Mar 2010 @ 7:37pm
        
        Re: Re: It means that Mike should pay attenton to grammar
        Here's a thought, Nestle has an "old school" corporate culture. This is nothing new, but some people need to remember what a real old corporate culture is like.
        
        I suspect the moderator is simply acting the was he sees the corporate culture around him reacts to this. If you've ever been to a Swiss hotel school it still is very "top down oriented" and restaurant kitchens? Oh please...
        
        The sad thing is they see the world in those same terms. Nestle sells boxes, they put things in boxes, they measure success on how many boxes they sell.... so I think, it's hard for them to... yeah, you guessed it... "think out of the box..."
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    - Arthur Taylor, 20 Mar 2010 @ 4:21am
      
      Re: It means that Mike should pay attenton to grammar
      You didn't even capitalise your own name you fool, and what's going on with that final comma ",dave"?
      
      Love and cuddles,
      
      Arthur
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- itisme (profile), 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:59pm
  
  Re: Grammar Nazi Alert
  Next time you wish to correct others on grammar, please use complete sentences to make yourself appear less foolish and petty. Also, avoid using a comma as the closing before your name.
  Thanks,
  Better Greek Grammar Nazi
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 19 Mar 2010 @ 7:12pm
  
  Re: Grammar Nazi Alert
  On the less/fewer debate, this has been done over a thousand times and most people now admit that the two are interchangeable and are understood either way. Please, let's focus on the actual content of the post.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2010 @ 5:54am
  
  Re: Grammar Nazi Alert
  I learned less than and greater than in third grade math. Given that this is a tech blog math out weighs language arts.
  
  I guess all that palm oil makes people dim.
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- Bad move, Dave, 20 Mar 2010 @ 8:19am
  
  Re: Grammar Nazi Alert
  @Mike,
  "It had less than 1,000 views."
  fewer
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davebarnes (profile), 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:50pm

Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
I am going to have a KitKat after my burger.
Palm oil = Tasty
Rainforest = not so much
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2010 @ 10:04pm
  
  Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
  Did you forget your meds today?
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2010 @ 5:53am
  
  Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
  I guess you wouldn't understand unless you saw it first hand like I have.
  
  Large swathes of flourishing Rainforest are being chopped down in favour of line after line of Palm trees.
  
  The native animals are being killed and replaced with Palm plantations, sterile places where nothing else lives.
  
  The thing is, Palm Oil isn't an essential ingredient. We're trading our planets rich diversity for a biscuit. It doesn't have to be that way. We can have both.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - James, 20 Mar 2010 @ 1:38pm
    
    Re: Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
    Dear AC,
    
    Please get down off the cross someone needs the wood. Thank you.
    
    Kind regards ,James (mis-placed comma added for dramatic effect)
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  - DS, 20 Mar 2010 @ 1:59pm
    
    Re: Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
    Good. Rainforests suck ass.
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  - paul, 20 Mar 2010 @ 6:36pm
    
    Re: Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
    Spiders, snakes, ebola, malaria... all in rainforests. Fuck 'em.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2010 @ 7:28pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
      I hope you're not serious about wanting our rainforests to be destroyed. I suspect that those on techdirt are not serious, but I really hope the people here at least have some regard for the environment.
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      - Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 22 Mar 2010 @ 10:09am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Well, given that tomorrow is "Meat Out" day
        I am in favor of some of our rain forests being destroyed. Not all, but some to provide some use besides a mosquito habitat. And at least they are putting trees back up. If it was a mining effort then you would definitely be looking at scorched earth.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2010 @ 6:59pm

Re: It means that Mike should pay attenton to grammar
Shhh! Don't say that anything about teh grammah, it will get you labeled as a troll!

http://xs.to/image-0615_4BA42742.jpg
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Mar 2010 @ 7:14pm

""it's our page, we set the rules, it was ever thus.""

And that's fine, but it's our planet, WE set the rules, and you don't get to file for bogus IP claims and tell others what they can and can't do outside of your website through our broken court system.
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NestleGuy94, 20 Mar 2010 @ 5:07am

Nerds are fucking stupid
That's right everyone, keep arguing about grammar. That's the real injustice.

muahahahaha
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Ava, 20 Mar 2010 @ 10:35am

Many people passed up a much higher salary job from a much more prestigious company and a position with more responsibility because of the corporate climate.
''The YES Movie'' produced by Louis Lautman
www.TheYESmovie.com
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enrolled agent, 20 Mar 2010 @ 5:23pm

Suicide
Reading the article above, that really looks like a business suicide...
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Ryan Diederich, 21 Mar 2010 @ 3:18pm

Ugh
Of course rainforests are important, but it isnt appropriate to throw this in the face of Nestle, who is using the cheapest and most available source of the ingredient.

Instead of whining, solve the problem, and propose your solution. Better yet, dont eat things with palm oil. Thats the democratic way of doing it.

Obviously people dont care about palm oil or rainforests, of else Nestle wouldnt be a GIANT.
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- Anonymous Coward, 21 Mar 2010 @ 4:27pm
  
  Re: Ugh
  While I am strong on free market capitalism when it comes to issues of promoting the progress of innovation (ie: fewer and less restrictive intellectual property laws) and when it comes to good economics, I do not see free market capitalism as a good solution to environmental concerns.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wess Stewart, 28 Mar 2010 @ 5:20pm

Ugh...
Stupid, anti-capitalist liberals. Don't they have anything better to do with their time than demonize companies? You can't please everybody, and unfortunately you can't shut them up either.

Stupid, stupid people.
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bob, 30 Mar 2010 @ 3:18am

I'm Starting To Think
That this whole Streisand effect is I think, threat mitigation.
Some of the more fringe Eco types take direct action like the ELF (Earth Liberation Front) using directs acts of terrorism like arson and bombings.
By making sure that these groups get some attention, it might reduce their angst. Reducing the acting out actions of the more fringe elements.
Just a thought.
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yuregininsesi, 24 Jun 2010 @ 3:57pm

While I am strong on free market capitalism when it comes to issues of promoting the progress of innovation (ie: fewer and less restrictive intellectual property laws) and when it comes to good economics, I do not see free market capitalism as a good solution to environmental concerns.
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devoted river, 18 Sep 2010 @ 3:02am

Its sad to hear that companies like Nestle, who already have the good will in the market will be in such a situation, I am still interested in knowing more about the Streisand Effect, to understand really if its going worse, or is improving!
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laughing blade, 30 Sep 2010 @ 6:52am

Good to Comment
I hoped that companies with good opinion among people are too good but its wrong.
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the crying of the dream, 7 Oct 2010 @ 10:26pm

While I am strong on free market capitalism when it comes to issues of promoting the progress of innovation (ie: fewer and less restrictive intellectual property laws) and when it comes to good economics, I do not see free market capitalism as a good solution to environmental concerns......fine.........
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free willing individual, 4 Nov 2010 @ 8:40pm

Large swathes of flourishing Rainforest are being chopped down in favour of line after line of Palm trees.

The native animals are being killed and replaced with Palm plantations, sterile places where nothing else lives.

The thing is, Palm Oil isn't an essential ingredient. We're trading our planets rich diversity for a biscuit. It doesn't have to be that way. We can have both.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Office 2010 Standard, 22 Nov 2010 @ 5:34pm

This is my first time i visit here. I discovered so numerous interesting stuff in your weblog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all of the enjoyment here! maintain up the great work
This is my first time i visit here. I discovered so numerous interesting stuff in your weblog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all of the enjoyment here! maintain up the great work.
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the door of the someone, 3 Dec 2010 @ 12:17am

i agree with it this was a better then others site and this was a useful site.
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shores in the luck, 15 Dec 2010 @ 6:58pm

Its sad to hear that companies like Nestle, who already have the good will in the market will be in such a situation, I am still interested in knowing more about the Streisand Effect, to understand really if its going worse, or is improving!
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review ratings, 20 Dec 2010 @ 3:16am

Comment
There is no copyright issue in the video at all, so it was a bogus takedown. I think to prevent this incident they must conduct review ratings for the products who copy the logo.
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review ratings, 20 Dec 2010 @ 3:16am

Comment
There is no copyright issue in the video at all, so it was a bogus takedown. I think to prevent this incident they must conduct review ratings for the products who copy the logo.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
plumbers tucson, 21 Aug 2011 @ 10:36pm

Great post!! Keep up the good work - I'm sure someday soon, someone will be doing an Ada Lovelace post about you!

plumbers tucson
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