Google removed hundreds of negative reviews from its Uyghur Forced Labor Screening Tool, which identifies clothing brands associated with forced labor for Uyghurs, after the human rights foundation suspected that the reviews were part of a disinformation campaign.
The Human Rights Foundation launched a tracking tool in 2021 to show consumers whether the clothing brands they buy depend on the forced labor of Uighurs.
The tracker warns internet users when they visit a retailer or company website that contains links to forced labor for Uyghurs. In 2022, the Human Rights Foundation received the People's Voice Webby Award for Public Service and Action.
Claudia Bennett, the nonprofit's chief legal officer, said the tracker, an add-on for Google Chrome, has seen a flurry of unusual activity and a spike in downloads in recent months, and the trend is on the rise.
The group's legal department warned Google in May of a series of bad reviews, arguing that it was likely manipulation of Google's ranking system with the aim of undermining the tool's credibility.
The foundation suspects that the changes were part of a botnet attack. Given their idiosyncrasies, relevant comments come from accounts that use cartoon-like avatars as account images, have nonsense names, and are not fluent in English.
Phrases such as "malicious defamation" and "invasion of privacy" were included in the comments, indicating a concerted effort to discredit the tool.
"The company closely monitors the Chrome Web Store and removes comments that violate its policies, including comments from the forced labor tracking system for Uighurs," a Google spokesperson said.
The comments appear to be coordinated, but Google has not yet determined who is behind them. The tracking device has resonated with many users worried about forced labor in China's Xinjiang region.
The United States has accused China of forcing the Uighurs in the Xinjiang region to perform forced labor in what authorities say constitutes a campaign of genocide.
According to the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labor, almost the entire garment industry is linked to this forced labor and most fashion brands benefit from it.