Bogus copyright claims target WCMU's reporting on UP bitcoin mine, congressional candidate

Recent reporting from WCMU about a man connected to controversial bitcoin mine in the eastern Upper Peninsula was temporarily pulled from Google’s search results because of a false copyright infringement claim filed last week.

The report centered on businessman and Florida congressional candidate Michael Carbonara, whose name is on the bitcoin mine’s permit filed with Dafter Township.

The mine consists of six large metal structures that house super computers and have a close resemblance to a shipping container in size and scope. The computers work on complex equations to earn cryptocurrency and are cooled off by fans which emit noise.

Multiple unknown companies filed bogus claims alleging that WCMU's stories wholesale plagiarized other news stories. The effort appears to be a part of a wider trend of news organizations being hit with bogus copyright claims about Carbonara.

At least four other news outlets, all based in Florida, had stories on Carbonara temporarily pulled from Google’s search results in recent weeks, according to listings on the Lumen database which tracks copyright takedowns. The claims came as Florida's early voting period got underway in early August. Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 18 in the Sunshine State.