situation
Sound familiar?
- several negative materials came out within a short time — too coordinated to be a coincidence
- identical comments and “outraged readers” have appeared under mentions of you
- the materials are being amplified by Telegram channels that never took an interest in you before
- you understand who might be behind it — but you can’t prove it or stop it
An attack is designed to make you lose your footing. The first days decide how it will end.
complexity
Why responding blindly is worse than staying silent
The typical reactions — an emotional rebuttal, complaints about everything in sight, a mirror-image “counter-commission” — usually amplify the attack: they give it new news hooks and legitimise the topic in the search results.
Counteraction begins not with a response but with diagnostics: who is working, through which platforms, with what budget and towards what outcome. Without that picture, any step is a lottery.
prevention
The cheapest protection comes before an attack
Attacks rarely strike into a void: they target those whose search results are vulnerable.
A strong information field — publications, a reference base, managed search results — makes an attack expensive and ineffective: the negative content has to break through a layer of credible material. Early detection is the other half of protection: Reputation monitoring spots the preparation of an attack before it becomes a wave.
process
How we work
01
Diagnostics
We map the attack: sources, the links between them, the mechanics of distribution, the trail of who commissioned it.
02
Strategy
What we neutralise, what we ignore, where and how we respond — and what we will not do under any circumstances.
03
Counteraction
Work with platforms, legal tools, counter-content where it is appropriate — without mirror-image attacks.
04
Recovery
When the wave subsides, we restore the picture in your search results: the attack must not remain the top layer of your name.
Countering an information attack begins with diagnosing its sources and the mechanics of its spread; an emotional response without diagnostics usually amplifies the attack by creating new news hooks for it.
formats
Both formats are customized. The cost depends on the complexity of the search results, the volume of negative content, and the target outcome.
Project
A defined project with a specific outcome: changing search results and resolving a particular issue. Timeline: from a few months.
Ongoing support
Reputation as a managed asset: monitoring, responding, and developing your information landscape. For those whose name works for them every day.
agency
Why SERM.UA
Since 2011 we have seen attacks from both sides of the barricades of the Ukrainian information space — and we know how they are made: the platforms, the rates, the typical scenarios.
More than 500 projects. Private individuals only.
Honestly: it is impossible to stop an attack “in a day”, and we don’t fight with mirror-image methods — a commissioned war makes things worse for both sides, and the trail stays with you.
question
Is it possible to find out who commissioned the attack?
Often, yes — from indirect signs: the mechanics of the placements, the links between platforms, the timing. A legally provable conclusion is rarer, and we honestly distinguish between these levels.
Is it realistic to remove commissioned articles?
Some of them, yes: through platforms and legal mechanisms. The rest we push out of the visible zone of the search results.
How long does counteraction take?
How long does counteraction take?
What should I do right now if an attack is already under way?
Don’t respond publicly before diagnostics. Record everything that comes out. And don’t make decisions on emotion — that is exactly what whoever commissioned it is counting on.
