False Copyright Claims Target WCMU's Bitcoin Mine Reporting

WCMU's reporting on a bitcoin mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula was temporarily removed from Google search results due to false copyright claims. The claims, filed by multiple unknown companies, alleged that WCMU had plagiarized other news stories about Michael Carbonara, a Florida congressional candidate with ties to the mine.

The claims were part of a wider trend of news organizations being hit with bogus copyright claims about Carbonara. At least four other Florida-based outlets had their articles on Carbonara temporarily removed from Google search results in recent weeks, according to listings on the Lumen database.

Lisa McGraw, public policy manager for the Michigan Press Association, suggested that the claims may be intended to stifle the reach of these articles, rather than successfully remove them. 'It seems to me just to be a tactic to muck up the work that you all are doing and distract,' she said.