This report examines a growing form of disinformation targeting individuals in Estonia and beyond: defamatory campaigns that exploit Google’s search engine to spread false accusations while suppressing legitimate journalism. The practice – often described as “digital reputation washing” – uses fabricated copyright complaints and imitation news sites to both discredit innocent people and conceal the activities of disinformation actors.
The findings highlight how these coordinated efforts undermine trust in search engines, exploit platform vulnerabilities, and inflict real reputational and professional harm. With links to previously identified pro-Kremlin influence operations, the campaigns represent a broader threat to the integrity of the information space and the safety of democratic societies.
This report is a deliverable of the EU-funded project (ID 101226242) coordinated by Re:Baltica, and is based on original investigative work published by Eesti Ekspress (Delfi Meedia).