Homebuilder Tries To Get Home Inspectors Social Media Videos Taken Down, Streisanding Them

Here we go again. The Streisand Effect has become so noticeably prevalent these days that I quite often hear the term being discussed in all manner of media. Hell, I came across it on a local Chicago sports radio broadcast a couple of weeks back. If the term and its implications aren’t being taught in business schools at this point, it almost certainly should be.

I say that because it seems there are still quite a few people out there who need the education. The latest unintentional student being educated is Taylor Morrison, a large homebuilder based in Arizona, but with development projects in 11 states. Taylor Morrison is attempting to get state regulators to take punitive action on Cy Porter, a home inspector who has built for himself with a decent social media following of his work.

Cy Porter of CyFy Home Inspections began posting videos of his home inspections on social media years ago. He shares footage from his inspections of new builds in Arizona.

“My number one focus is I want everyone to understand new builds need inspections just as much as any other home,” Porter said. “They don’t just need inspection. They need someone to find all the issues that violate Arizona state standards or that go against the [Registrar of Contractors], which is the builders’ governing board.”

His videos caught the attention of Taylor Morrison, one of the biggest home construction companies in the country. Porter conducts inspections of homes built by all companies, including Taylor Morrison. 

And here’s where it gets weird. It was Porter that first reached out to Taylor Morrison when he discovered some issues at one of their home developments. From there, the company responded to him and, for a period of time, the two sides had a dialogue going that seemed amicable. Then, for one reason or another, Porter was prevented from doing a home inspection on a Taylor Morrison home. He made one of his social media videos about the episode, and suddenly the interaction he was having with the company changed. And then, well…

In April, Taylor Morrison filed a complaint against him with the Arizona Board of Technical Registration which regulates home inspectors.

The complaint alleges unprofessional conduct. 

“Taylor Morrison would like Cyril Porter, on behalf of himself and his companies, to stop posting any videos to social media about Taylor Morrison,” the complaint reads.  The complaint continues to request past videos be removed and for Porter to be disciplined for “harassing, falsified, and bullying” social media posts. It also claims Porter has made inappropriate comments to “female professionals” and questions his endorsement deals done on social media.

Now, Porter has stated he thinks the complaint was only filed due to the negative nature of his most recent video about Taylor Morrison. And, frankly, I agree with him. All of this seems to have been triggered by that last video. Most of what Taylor Morrison is complaining about existed while the two sides were having more friendly conversations.

Now, surely Taylor Morrison was attempting to use this complaint to intimidate Porter into taking his videos about the company down out of fear. Were that indeed the goal, however, it seems to have backfired in true Streisand Effect Fashion. For starters, Porter is not taking any videos down, nor is he ceasing to put new videos up. He has said he has work booked out for longer than the next calendar year and he isn’t going to change a thing about his social media presence.

And, of course, here we all are talking in a much wider and broader way about Taylor Morrison in a negative way and in a way that brings even more attention to Porter’s videos. I wonder just how many more views those videos about Taylor Morrison have gotten since the complain was filed. I don’t know the answer as of this writing, but I am certain that the answer is not “zero.”

So enjoy all the extra attention you are getting by trying to silence some online criticism, Taylor Morrison. Here, as they say, endeth the lesson.