{"id":5611,"date":"2026-04-01T06:25:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=5611"},"modified":"2026-04-01T06:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:25:28","slug":"google-removes-search-engine-land-article-after-false-dmca-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=5611","title":{"rendered":"Google removes Search Engine Land article after false DMCA claim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p> <div id=\"articleContent\" itemprop=\"articlebody\"> <div class=\"bialty-container\"> <p>Google removed a Search Engine Land article (Report: Clickout Media turned news sites into AI gambling hubs, published March 26) from its search results after a copyright complaint (that appears, to us, to be entirely false). Meanwhile, a similar DMCA filing led to the takedown of the original Press Gazette investigation.<\/p> <p><strong>What happened.<\/strong> A DMCA notice filed March 27 claimed Search Engine Land copied content \u201cword for word\u201d and used proprietary images.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li>The complaint led Google to begin removing the article from search results globally.<\/li> <li>The notice identified the complainant as \u201cUS Webspam,\u201d with no clear public attribution.<\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>The context.<\/strong> The removed article reported that Clickout Media allegedly used expired or acquired domains to publish AI-generated gambling content.<\/p> <p><strong>The claim details.<\/strong> Here\u2019s the message we received via Google Search Console on March 27:<\/p> <blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"> <p>Description of claim: The infringing news website has blatantly and willfully violated\u00a0copyright\u00a0law by copying our entire content word for word, including all images, which are solely owned by our company. This includes the complete replication of our original written material, as published on our official website, along with the proprietary visuals accompanying it. Despite multiple good-faith efforts to resolve this matter amicably, the infringing party (hereinafter referred to as \u201cInfringer\u201d) continues to unlawfully publish and distribute our\u00a0copyrighted\u00a0content without permission. This is a direct and flagrant breach of our rights and a clear violation of Google\u2019s\u00a0copyright\u00a0policies. We hereby demand the immediate removal of this infringing material from Google search results to protect our intellectual property.<\/p> <\/blockquote> <p>You can read the DMCA complaint here.<\/p> <p><strong>What doesn\u2019t add up.<\/strong> The Search Engine Land article contains no images, contradicting the complaint. Also:<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li>A search of its text shows no evidence of copied content.<\/li> <li>The notice claims \u201cmultiple good-faith efforts\u201d to resolve the issue, but no outreach was received before filing.<\/li> <li>The complaint was submitted one day after publication.<\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>What Google says.<\/strong> Google\u2019s standard policy is to remove content upon receiving a valid copyright complaint, with an option for publishers to file a counter notice. The company has not commented on this specific case.<\/p> <p><strong>Why we care.<\/strong> This shows how DMCA takedowns can be weaponized to suppress reporting, including coverage of search spam and site reputation abuse. Legitimate content can be temporarily removed from search results due to unverified claims, and the resolution can take weeks or longer.<\/p> <p><strong>What\u2019s next. <\/strong>We\u2019ll watch whether this article is DMCA\u2019d and removed, along with the Press Gazette\u2019s, and anyone else covering the story.<\/p> <p><strong>Reactions.<\/strong> Here\u2019s some reaction from X:<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"> <p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">theholycoins isn\u2019t owned by clickout (it\u2019s one of the sites that would actually do negative reporting into their scams, so they probably picked one of those posts and said they were them\/the original author of your dmca\u2019d piece)<\/p> <p>the rabbit hole on clickout goes a lot deeper than\u2026<\/p> <p>\u2014 \ud83d\udc08\u200d\u2b1b (@undercover) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/undercover\/status\/2038647162620334448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/figure> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"> <p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I&#8217;m surprised this was approved by Google\u2026 I&#8217;ve seen them come back with rejected DMCA notices when it was clear the site was infringing copyright. This is a BS DMCA takedown that doesn&#8217;t even make sense. Very interesting case\u2026 I have a feeling the article will surface again\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/Zi8hUV8g14<\/p> <p>\u2014 Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/glenngabe\/status\/2038234420612616545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/figure> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"> <p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udd95 A totally irrelevant site has DMCAed Search Engine Land&#8217;s reporting page about ClickOut Media spamming Google&#8217;s search results!<\/p> <p>Weird enough DMCA requested was accepted by Google and now this URL from Search Engine Land isn&#8217;t showing up in search\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dGbJ04KbQG\">pic.twitter.com\/dGbJ04KbQG<\/a><\/p> <p>\u2014 Gagan Ghotra (@gaganghotra_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gaganghotra_\/status\/2038061394768306430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/figure> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"> <p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ICYMI:<\/p> <p>Last week <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pressgazette?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@pressgazette<\/a> published an investigative report about a media company that acquires online publishers and exploits their domain authority for SEO shenanigans.<\/p> <p>This is the same company that acquired a portion of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cointelegraph?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Cointelegraph<\/a> to host casino &amp; gambling content,\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/duFkS7MBiP\">pic.twitter.com\/duFkS7MBiP<\/a><\/p> <p>\u2014 Afik Rechler (@kifakrec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kifakrec\/status\/2038162874984485058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/figure> <p><strong>Update, March 31.<\/strong> The Press Gazette and Search Engine Land articles, which were removed due to the bogus DMCA complaints, are now back in Google Search.<\/p> <\/div> <hr\/> <p class=\"article-disclosure\"> <em>Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page\u2019s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.<\/em> <\/p> <hr\/> <div class=\"author-about py-4\"> <div class=\"card bg-light\"> <div class=\"row gx-0\"> <div class=\"col-12 col-lg-auto\"> <div class=\"authorImage p-2\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded avatar-border\" alt=\"Danny Goodwin\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Danny-Goodwin-scaled.jpeg.webp\" title=\"Google removes Search Engine Land article after false DMCA claim\u63d2\u56fe\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/07\/Danny-Goodwin-scaled.jpeg.webp\" alt=\"Danny Goodwin\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" title=\"Google removes Search Engine Land article after false DMCA claim\u63d2\u56fe1\" \/> <\/div> <\/p><\/div> <div class=\"col-12 col-lg\"> <div class=\"card-body author-body p-2\"> <div id=\"authorBio-23878\" class=\"author-desc\"> <p>Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land &amp; Search Marketing Expo &#8211; SMX. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land\u2019s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events. <\/p> <p>Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.<\/p> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/div> <p> <!-- START SIDEBAR LOWER SPACE --><\/p> <p><!-- END SIDEBAR LOWER SPACE --><\/p><\/div> <p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>News#Google #removes #Search #Engine #Land #article #false #DMCA #claim1774995928<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google removed a Search Engine Land article (Report: Clickout Media turned news sites into AI gambling hubs, published March 26) from its search results after a copyright complaint (that appears, to us, to be entirely false). Meanwhile, a similar DMCA filing led to the takedown of the original Press Gazette investigation. What happened. A DMCA [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[10883,8738,20945,4122,5659,75,663,83,5537,95],"class_list":["post-5611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","tag-article","tag-claim","tag-dmca","tag-engine","tag-false","tag-google","tag-land","tag-news","tag-removes","tag-search"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}