TIL that cancel culture backlash actually saved a small business I know

My friend runs a local bakery in Austin and got flamed online for a dumb joke on their sign last June... I figured they'd lose half their customers but instead we saw a 40% boost in sales the next week. People showed up just to support them against the mob. Has anyone else seen a situation where getting cancelled backfired and actually helped the person?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin2281mo ago

Heard a podcaster say the Streisand Effect is real, isn't it?

morgan_king361mo ago

Hang on, 40% boost? Are you serious? That sounds like a massive number to me, not some little lucky fluke. In my experience, when people get that much negative attention online, it usually crushes them, so a jump like that is wild. I have to wonder if the backlash actually got more people curious about the bakery than if nothing had happened at all. Like, maybe the Streisand Effect is real in a weird way where trying to shut something down just makes it blow up bigger. I'm not saying getting canceled is good, but a 40% increase in business is hard to just brush off as random or unlucky.

diana_kim661mo ago

So you're saying "cancel culture backlash actually saved a small business" - but that's just a lucky fluke, not proof the mob has any good side. Most people who get cancelled lose their jobs, get death threats, and have their lives ruined, a 40% boost for one bakery doesn't change that reality. If anything, this story just shows how random and unpredictable this whole thing is, not that getting publicly shamed is somehow a good thing for anyone.

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