A news story about an investigation that came to nothing can stay on the first page of Google for years. For anyone looking you up, that story is you. This happens a lot with Spanish local and national newspapers, whose online archives are very well ranked. There are four ways to deal with it, and it is usually best to combine two of them.
1. Ask the publication to anonymise the article
This is the route most Spanish publications accept: the article stays online, but your name is replaced by your initials. The newspaper keeps its archive and you can no longer be identified. It works particularly well for crime and court reporting.
2. Ask them to update it
If the article reported an arrest or an investigation and the case was later dropped or you were acquitted, you can ask for that information to be added. The more documents you provide (the court order closing the case, the judgment), the easier it is. Spanish court documents are in Spanish, so it helps to send them as they are, together with a short explanation.
3. Ask them to take it down
This is appropriate when the information is false, invades your privacy or has no news value at all. It is the hardest route with large media groups, but fairly common with blogs and small websites.
4. Have it delisted from Google
Even if the publication refuses to touch the article, you can ask Google not to show it when someone searches for your name. This is the right to be forgotten, and in many cases it is the fastest route. Our complete guide explains how it works.
What if the article is false and recent?
Spanish law gives you a right of reply (derecho de rectificación): you can send the editor a written correction within seven calendar days of publication, and the publication must print it. If that deadline has passed, you can still request removal or go to court if your right to honour (Spain's equivalent of protection against defamation) has been infringed.
What not to do
- Threaten the publication or the journalist. It usually ends in a second story.
- Pay to have the article removed.
- Flood the internet with low-quality content to bury the result: Google ignores it and it can make your image worse.
Not sure which route fits your case? Try the feasibility simulator or tell us about it. We handle the whole process in Spanish with the publication and you follow it in English.
