The United Arab Emirates paid more than $6 million to a secretive US reputation management firm tied to whitewashing a client’s link to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to manipulate Google search results and suppress damaging reporting about its ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al-Otaiba, according to a New York Times investigation.
The revelation appears in a wider investigation into Terakeet, a Syracuse-based firm that specialises in search engine optimisation and online reputation management for powerful clients facing public scrutiny.
While the New York Times investigation focuses mainly on Terakeet’s failed attempt to repair the reputation of Goldman Sachs general counsel and supporter of Israel, Kathryn Ruemmler, over her links to Epstein, one of its most striking revelations concerns the firm’s work for the UAE and its long-serving ambassador in Washington, Yousef Al-Otaiba.
An advocate of Israel, Ruemmler’s Washington legal career saw her make the case for legislation to combat the anti-BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) campaign. In 2019, she and former US solicitor general Paul Clement were cited as having written legal opinions arguing that legislation linked to President Donald Trump executive order on anti-Semitism did not violate the First Amendment, even though critics warned that such measures could be used to suppress campus criticism of Israel and support for BDS.
