I took a screenshot years ago where 10/14 of the viewable top headlines on my screen where positive Google discussion. From an advertising perspective it was all earned marketing (satisfied customers speaking highly).

While these situations could be a pg-style astroturf submarine, or they could be satisfied customers (the best kind of advertising), I wouldn't necessarily say fishy (you can look at the satisfied users' previous contributions to make that judgment yourself! :)).

Personally, I've not used Kagi, but I hear positive things from people I trust that use it. So I'll likely try it in the future.