Remove Times of India Article: Effective News Takedown Methods

Is there any online news article containing negative content about you? If yes, it must be immediately removed as it can severely damage your or your brand’s online reputation. Removing an article can be a challenging process, especially if it is published by a major publication like The Times of India. The process involves multiple critical steps and requires some major skills – it’s not impossible. Effective strategies, along with a robust plan, are crucial to remove Times of India article. 

Imagine a reputed online publication like The Times of India (TOI) publishes a negative news story about your brand. As more people are likely to trust such because of the publication’s popularity, your brand reputation can be in danger. And the only solution is to take down that specific news article from The Times of India’s digital platforms, like its website and app. 

From identifying the appropriate contacts from the Times of India media publication team to considering alternative methods if direct content removal is not possible, the Times of India article removal process involves everything and beyond.

Wondering how to get started with the news article removal process? Our comprehensive guide will help you detect and remove negative news articles from The Times of India with a strategic approach. Let’s delve into specific steps to address and remove damaging news articles from a prestigious publication like TOI. 

Understanding the Removal of a Times of India Article

The removal of a The Times of India refers to the strategic process of removing a negative news story from the publication’s website by directly contacting the right media professional. However, you should always remember that a prestigious media house like The Times of India will now take down content from its digital platform just because you don’t like its content. You must provide a valid and compelling reason to ensure The Times of India editorial team considers removing it. 

Some reasons can be: 

• Factual inaccuracies 
• Legal issues 
• Defamation 
• Privacy violations 
• Court order 

You cannot expect a guaranteed content removal policy from such a media publication. The editorial team handles every content removal request on a case-by-case basis.

Wondering why this news story removal is crucial? 

Negative news articles can severely damage your public image as well as your brand reputation. People may trust those details published through the news article, which may lead to a negative public perception, decreasing sales, and even the overall growth of your business. 

Here’s what you must remember while getting started with the negative Time of India article removal process. 

• Public Interest Vs. Privacy: The success of your content removal request majorly depends on whether the content is related to public interest or it’s a case of compelling privacy violation. 

• Correction Vs. Removal: The Times of India is a renowned media publication, and it may be more considerable to correct the factual inaccuracies present in that specific Times of India news story rather than taking it down completely.  

• Right to be Fogotten: Do you know that 86% of online global citizens are exposed to fake news? So, there is a law named ‘Right to be forgotten’ that can be implemented in this regard in some countries. However, this is not explicitly included in the Indian law, but in these other countries. 

Can a Times of India (TOI) Article be Removed? 

To remove Times of India article, you need to understand certain policies and guidelines of the media publication. Firstly, you need to identify whether a Times of India article is removable or not. 

If we talk about it in detail, we can say that a TOI article can be removed based on the reasons you provide through a formal content removal request. If a Times of India article contains false or inaccurate information, you can request the removal or a detailed update. 

Is it guaranteed? 

No, it’s not. You need to formally approach your TOI content removal request with valid proof. Don’t forget to cite the media publication’s own DNPA ethics. Apart from this, you need to implement effective strategies to remove online negative news about you or your brand. We’ll talk about these proven methods later in this article. 

1. Time of India’s Editorial Policies and Content Ownership 

The Times of India (Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.) owns the content that it publishes in its digital publication. Their ‘Terms of Use’ allow the editorial team to alter, update, and delete content. In case there are genuine errors, one can contact the TOI editorials, as the decision to remove the content completely depends on them. 

Instead of completely deleting the content, they can choose to edit or remove the inaccurate parts of a specific news story as per industry standards. If one is struggling to take down the Times of India article, you can hire professional content removal services from an online reputation management agency. 

• Content Ownership

TOI strictly owns the content that it publishes on its site. It refers to the news story and related information that they research, find, and publish – they strictly own this content. However, their Terms of Use also grant them the broad right to modify or remove specific content. 

• Discretion

The editorial team of The Times of India reserves the right to manage its content, especially that which it considers suitable for publication. Otherwise, certain ethical guidelines prompt them to make corrections. 

• DNPA Code

The Times of India adheres to the DNPA Code, which is the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA). This specific policy allows editing and deletion of false reports if any content removal request is submitted with valid evidence. 

2. Situations where TOI Article Removal is Possible

There are certain situations where a media publication must consider removing an article if a content removal request is submitted. Let’s have a clear idea of these situations. 

• Legal Violations – If any Times of India article violates a law and is related to defamation or copyright infringement, the editorial team must remove that specific article from their digital platform. 

• Public Health or Safety Risks – If a Times of India news story encourages harm, threat, or illegal activities that can be harmful to public health and safety, you can request its removal. 

• Misinformation – If the TOI news story contains harmful misinformation, the news article is subject to removal to protect public safety. 

• Ethical Privacy Breaches or Misconduct – If the TOI news story exposes a person’s sensitive personal information without the person’s consent, and the article has no clear public interest justification, it will be considered a breach of privacy and has potential grounds for removal. Additionally, if the news report involves a serious breach of journalistic ethics, it should be removed from online public access. 

• Significant Factual Errors – If the news report is false, contains major factual inaccuracies, the TOI team must consider the news story for removal, correction, clarification, and or a public featured apology. 

• Privacy of Minors – If critical news, such as child abuse, exposes the real identity of a minor, then it violates the privacy of the minor. Such a news article is also subject to removal. 

3. Situations where TOI Article Removal isn’t Possible

Now we’ll talk about the situations when a Times of India article removal is not at all possible. For such situations, you need to prioritize alternative methods, which we’ll discuss in this blog later. 

Based on the freedom of expression and public information, these situations don’t allow someone to remove Times of India article. The common situations are: 

• Accuracy of the Original Report – Imagine a negative TOI article was published and contained factually accurate information, and the reporting time is also correct. News organizations like The Times of India are not obligated to remove such a factually correct news article, even if the subject of the news article is inconvenient and embarrassing. 

• Lack of Legal Violation – If the published information has not violated any specific law, like defamation, privacy invasion, or hate speech, it can be difficult to delete that news story from its source. If the reporting is lawful, you have no strong legal base to force a removal. 

• Public Record or Concern – If the content of a news story contains information that is a part of a public record and related to a matter of legitimate public interest, it cannot be removed from the source. For example, a TOI news article involves information about a political figure, a legal case of public consequences, and a significant community event. Such news articles are considered to be protected under the principles of the public’s right to know.

• No ‘Right to be Forgotten’ in Certain Jurisdictions – Many countries, like India and the United States, cannot use the ‘right to be forgotten’ law. So the citizens cannot delete the previously published accurate reporting. It limits the legal avenues for demanding the removal. 

• Strict Internal Policies – Prestigious news publications like The Times of India have their own internal editorial policies regarding their integrity and the significance of their archives. So they don’t allow information alteration or deletion of accurate news articles to maintain, specifically to maintain the historical record. 

Why You May Want to Request the Removal of a Times of India Article? 

If you want to remove a Times of India article, there must be some major reasons. Without any major reason, a prestigious and renowned media publication like The Times of India is more likely to reject your content removal request. 

Here are some common reasons why one may want to request the removal of a Times of India article. 

Understanding Times of India’s Content Removal Policy 

The Times of India’s content removal policy is specifically guided by journalistic ethics, NBDA, the Press Council of India, and the legal standards in India. Let’s know about the content removal policy of TOI in detail. 

1. Editorial Discretion and Journalistic Standards 

• Discretion: Editors must have a significant degree of latitude and editorial discretion in selecting topics, deciding the content to publish, and framing the content.  They must stay within legal and ethical boundaries. It’s crucial to the news-gathering process. 

• Ethical Norms: The Times of India, like the other Indian media, strictly follows the ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’ set by the Press Council of India.

• Self-Regulation: The media operates under a framework of self-regulation in a close association with NBDA to ensure ethical standards are strictly maintained. 

2. Difference between Corrections, Clarifications, and Takedowns 

• Corrections: When you detect a factual error or a mistake in a TOI news article, the media publication is expected to publish the correction promptly. For serious factual errors, TOI may need to share a public apology or express its regret for the inconvenience caused. 

• Clarifications: An individual has the right to respond with a reply, clarification, or contradiction to any negative details about them in a TOI news article. The media publication should publish the clarifications promptly, either completely change the news story, or edit the specific parts. 

• Takedowns: Though complete content removal is less common nowadays, it occurs under major circumstances. To remove Times of India article, you need to provide valid reasons. Defamatory, unlawful, grossly harmful news stories can be removed through a government or court order. 

3. Public Interest Vs. Individual Reputation 

• Balancing Act: The Times of India team will always prioritize a constant balance between the public’s right to know something and an individual’s or a business’s right to their reputation and privacy. The team recognizes both as fundamental rights. 
• Public Figures: Prominent personalities who have a significant influence on the public often have lower expectations of privacy. The press can report on the acts of these public figures if they’re of public interest, even if the acts are conducted in private. 

• Private Citizens: The press cannot use defamatory material for their feature if it is about a private citizen. Even if the incident is true, they cannot publish such content that can damage a private citizen’s reputation (if no public interest is involved, only then the content or news story not subject to removal). The press must not intervene in an individual’s privacy related to their home, family, health, or profession. 

• Judicial Intervention: Courts often weigh freedom of speech against the right to the reputation of an individual. An injunction for removal might be denied if the content is already accessible to the public, mostly because the reputation damage has already occurred. 

4. How Does The Times of India Treat old articles? 

Yes, The Times of India treats old news articles in different ways. Here are some brief points about that. 

• For Old Articles – The already published news articles remain in the online publication through digital platforms like the website and the app. They remain as a part of the public record, and the editorial team doesn’t remove them from their site.

• For Cases related to Arrests and Legal Proceedings – TOI follows up and updates the news stories based on the new details. They publish the logical conclusions and final verdicts of such cases to provide the public with a complete and fair picture of the matter. 

• For Old, Factually Correct News – If a news story is old but factually correct, TOI is unlikely to remove those news articles from their digital platforms unless legally compelled to do so due to extreme circumstances. 

A Step-by-Step Guide to Remove a Times of India Article

If you don’t take initiatives during the initial days when you’ve come across a negative TOI article about you or your brand, more people will come across the same and get a negative perception of you. 

Now that you have a clear idea of the content policies and terms of content use of a prestigious news media publication, we’ll talk about some proven steps to strategically remove a negative Times of India news article from its source. Let’s get started with a step-by-step guide. 

Step 1: Identify the Issue 

The first step is to identify why you want to remove a specific Times of India article. It’s about detecting the issue with that specific news article. 

1. Highlight Incorrect or Harmful Sections of the Article 

You need to aim to build a solid case so that the publisher will be convinced that the TOI news article is significantly damaging your public image or online brand reputation. You can present the case to the Times of India editorial team; otherwise, generic content removal requests are often rejected. 

Firstly, you need to highlight the incorrect sections of the TOI news article and pinpoint specific issues. Avoid mentioning generic statements or your dislikes; focus on highlighting valid problems. 

Highlight the sections that contain – 

• Factual errors like wrong names, dates, and locations 
• Defamatory or harassing content 
• Privacy violation, like someone’s sensitive information (address, financial details, and non-public legal records) gets exposed 
• Outdated information that is no longer relevant today 
• Biased information or misrepresentation of statements 

2. Collect Evidence and Supporting Documents 

Now, you need to focus on providing the best possible evidence to support your claim for content removal. Evidence plays a major role in ensuring the success of your TOI news article removal process. 

Collect the documentation that validates your claims and helps you remove Times of India article successfully. 

Note: Always remember, the more proof you provide, the stronger your case will be. 

What should be gathered as evidence? 

Here are some important documents that you should collect as evidence. 

• Original copies of the article – the offline copies, like the screenshots and PDFs as well 
• Proof of inaccuracy, such as factual errors, abusive or defamatory statements 
• Official documents like the court documents, police reports, official certificates, and employment records 
• Official ID/documents that verify your correct name and details 
• Rejection letters from job applications 
• Emails or letters from housing authorities 
• Certificates of loan offers citing the article 
• Personal statements that show emotional distress or reputational damage 
• Certified copies of the court order 
• Future interactions with the media publisher, including the names of the people you’ve interacted with, dates and times of the communication, and a summary of the conversation or email 

Step 2: Contact the Editorial Team 

Now that you have already collected all the major evidence, it’s time to contact the editorial team of The Times of India directly. Here, we have provided you with detailed steps. 

1. Find the Correct Contact Details of the Editorial Team 

Through the website and app of The Times of India, you can find the details of TOI’s editorial department. Navigate to the ‘Contact Us’ page of their site, and there you can find all the contact information of their team.

However, the right person to contact for submitting your content removal request is the designated Grievance Officer and the general editorial team. 

1. For formal complaints and removal requests, you can contact the Grievance Officer of TOI. 

• Email Address:  grievance.toi@timesinternet.in 
• Contact No: +91-124-4518550
• Address: Times Internet Limited, Plot No. 391, Udyog Vihar, Phase – III, Gurgaon, Haryana 122016, India

2. For editorial inquiries and updating the Times of India news story with new details, you can contact the editorial team. 

• Email: toieditorial@timesgroup.com
• Contact No:  +91-120-6776999

2. Write a Professional TOI Article Removal Request 

Email is the best way to send a content removal request to a prestigious media publication like The Times of India. Your email should be clear, concise, and respectful. It should include all the necessary details of the specific TOI news article that you want to remove and the reasons for your request. 

Avoid using emotional or threatening language in the email, as it can lead to your email being rejected. 

Sample Example of a TOI News Article Removal Request Email

You can take reference from this sample email and modify it based on your requirements. 

Subject: Request for Article Review and Removal – [Article Title/Headline]

Respected Grievance Officer,

I would like to formally request a detailed review and removal of an article published on The Times of India website. 

The mentioned article is titled (the title of the TOI news article), published on (the date of publication). You can also find the article through this URL : (the URL of the TOI article). 

I am requesting the review and removal of the article for the following reasons: 

• The article has factual inaccuracies – (clearly explain the specific inaccuracies and details why you want to remove the specific TOI article).
• The article has caused my brand extreme reputational damage and negatively impacted (the aspects severely impacted by the TOI article)
• The article has exposed sensitive information of my brand (clearly highly detailed, that have raised privacy concerns) 

I have attached the essential documentation and court records to support my request for your further review. I kindly request you to consider my request and inform me if there is any further procedure that I need to follow. Feel free to contact me via the details provided below. 

Thank you for your prompt attention. 

Sincerely,

(Your name)

(Your phone number)

(Your email address) 

Step 3: Request Correction or Updates 

The next step is to request corrections and updates of the specific news article, if it’s possible. 

Sometimes, you may think that the complete removal of the news story is not necessary, as a little correction of some information can do the work. For such cases, you can submit the same email to the editorial team requesting the information correction. 

Don’t forget to clearly state the issue and provide enough evidence in the email for any requested changes in the TOI news story.

1. Why Choose the Correction of the Article? 

You may be wondering why you should opt for correction rather than removal. So, here are some reasons why a correction is an effective and practical approach that is more likely to get accepted rather than demanding an outright removal. 

• More Feasibility: Reputable media publications like The Times of India often have less strict policies for corrections if there are factual errors in their published content. But they are generally reluctant to completely remove their news articles if they’re factually accurate and lawfully published. 

• More Transparency: Additionally, an updated version of a news article with a note from the editor or a follow-up piece showcases utmost transparency and a commitment to deliver truth to the public. 

• More Credibility: When you request an information correction to a news publication and show your interest in engaging in that organization’s established content correction process, it highlights your effort to present accurate information to the public. The publisher can be convinced by your effort, as this practice adds more credibility to you as an individual. 

2. How an Updated TOI Article Can Reduce the Reputational Impact? 

Imagine an old case of controversy has gone viral again through a TOI news article, but with outdated details. However, now you have some updated information regarding the matter that can reduce your reputational damage.  

If you don’t present those updated details, how will the public know about them?

If information correction is possible, you must not aim to remove Times of India article at first. Here’s how an updated news article can positively impact your reputation.

• An official correction of the factual details, like a new court verdict, ensures the readers have access to the right and current information. 
• An updated TOI article allows the incorporation of new details or different perspectives that are missing from the previous news report. It can offer a more balanced view of the entire matter and reduce a negative public perspective. 
• Search engines often prioritize such updated articles to show the updated versions in their results and push down the potentially damaging and old versions. 
• An official update from a trusted news resource like The Times of India carries weight and generates a sense of trust among the readers regarding the new details added to the news story. 

Step 4: Follow Up Regularly 

After you send your content removal request to the editorial team of The Times of India, you have to wait for a minimum of 30 days to receive a response. We suggest regularly following up with your request, as a news media publication may receive too many content removal requests every day. 

And your email is more likely to be lost among all these requests if you don’t follow up. Now the question comes – when should you follow up that it doesn’t seem overwhelming for the publisher? 

Let’s have a look! 

A Recommended Follow-Up Timeline 

We recommend a follow-up time of 30 days regarding the request for a TOI article removal. You can follow up after 30 days of your initial request. 

In its privacy policy, The Times of India has stated that it may take up to 30 days to process and complete requests regarding personal information. This is the standard time frame for the news publication to allocate for reviewing such content removal requests. 

However, the company may ask for an extension of another 60 days if it sees the request as crucial and requires significant effort. If you receive no response even after 30 days, you can send a polite follow-up communication through email or letter. 

How to Maintain a Respectful Tone? 

Another crucial factor is to maintain a respectful tone while following up. You cannot force the publisher to send a response or remove the content while communicating. 

Here’s how you can maintain a respectful tone while following up. 

• Be polite: Keep your language and tone polite and professional. Don’t be emotional while communicating; focus on using phrases like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. 
• Be objective: Always provide factual details through your follow-up emails and stick to the specific facts of your request, such as inaccuracies, harmful wordings, and more. 
• Be concise and clear: In your follow-up email, get straight to the point, avoiding expanding the email too much. Always remember that professionals working in a news media publication are busy, and they may not have enough time to go through a long email. 
• Provide context: You must briefly mention your main, initial email in this follow-up email, including the date you sent it and the specific article you’ve been talking about. It will provide the publisher with a proper context and all the necessary information in one place, and they don’t need to find your previous email. 

Step 5: Seek Legal Assistance from Professionals 

The last step you can take is to seek legal assistance from a renowned professional. If all the previously mentioned strategies fail, you must consider following the legal route. 

1. Defamation Laws to Prioritise 

You can prioritise defamation laws as they can be pursued under both civil and criminal law in India. Let’s know about the types of defamation in detail. 

2. Send a Legal Notice 

The legal professional you have hired may ask you to formally send a legal notice to the new article publisher. You need to send the notice to the Editor/Publisher of the Times of India editorial team. 

The notice must contain all the defamatory statements present in the TOI news article and why you demand specific actions, such as a featured apology or a complete removal of the article. 

The notice typically provides a specific timeframe of 7-15 days for compliance, after which you’ll initiate the legal action. Even if you don’t recieve any satisfactory response or request refusal within the specified time, you can definitely proceed to file a court case. 

When to Consult a Cyber Lawyer? 

Yes, there is a specific time to consult with a lawyer. You shouldn’t consider taking the legal route just when you’ve submitted the content removal request. The following are some major timings when you should consult a cyber lawyer. 

• When you need support in gathering evidence to draft a legally sound notice
• When the article in the talk involves technology, only a lawyer with expertise in cyber laws can navigate these specifics 
• When the case involves major reputational harm, a prominent public figure, and can encourage legal arguments 
• When you have decided to file a court case, as all the previous strategies have failed to remove Times of India article 

3 Alternatives to Consider if TOI Article Removal isn’t Possible

Have you ever thought what if all these steps fail and you have no other options left to initiate a removal? 

Disappointing right? 

Don’t worry! There are other alternatives as well. Other than the complete removal of the TOI article, you can consider the following alternatives to reduce the reputational damage of the specific TOI article 

1. Search Engine Suppression 

The first alternative is to suppress the news article in the search engine results page, so that people don’t come across that negative TOI article. You need to implement specific strategies to remove negative news articles from Google search as well. 

How to Push Down a TOI Article? 

Direct removal of a legitimate, factually correct TOI news article is a daunting task. So, the most effective strategy is content suppression that moves the news article to the second or third page of search results. And it will lead to a dramatic decrease in the news story’s search engine visibility. 

1. Publish Positive Contact 

To build a positive online presence, you need to create relevant and positive content to push down negative news articles. When positive content about you starts appearing higher in the search engine results, it will naturally outrank the negative results over time.  

• Create Owned Properties: You can develop your own website that matches your public identity and brand name. Don’t forget to add a professional bio, accomplishments, and high-quality positive content to your website. Optimise them with relevant keywords, so that they can rank higher in the search results and push down the negative news links. 

• Social Media Profiles: Create engaging, positive visual content to share on your social media profiles and engage more with your audience through Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can share your positive client reviews and testimonials through social media profiles to showcase the positive aspects of your expertise and regain your target audience’s trust. 

• Guest Posts: You can also share your positive content through guest posting opportunities. Collaborate with authoritative website owners in your niche and request them to share your guest blogs on their website. 

2. Pitch to the Media for Positive Press Coverage 

You can pitch to the right media professional to earn positive coverage regarding the matter covered in the specific Times of India news article. They will cover your side of the story as well and make it reach a wide audience base. 

To pitch to the media, you need to send a formal email to the respective media professional stating your issue – how a specific TOI news article is damaging your public image or your brand reputation, how you have considered its removal but received no response from the publisher, and why you want the media house or media person to cover your story. 

2. Google’s De-Indexing Requests 

You can also send a formal request to Google to de-index the specific TOI news article from their search result. 

When Is It Applicable? 

You can request the de-indexing of the news article from Google search in the following scenarios. 

• If the news article page no longer exists but still appears in the search results 
• If the news article contains sensitive data and is featured on a website that charges fees for its removal 
• If the news article involves infringement of intellectual property rights
• If the news story is inaccurate, irrelevant, and comes under the ‘right to be forgotten’ act 
• If the new story should be removed under local laws or court orders 

1. Employ Google’s ‘Remove Outdated Content’ Tool

Firstly, you need to employ Google’s official Content Removal tool to remove that specific news article that has violated personal content policy or contains non-consensual explicit images or other sensitive personal information. 

Why use this tool? 

This specific tool will help remove the search results for the news story page that have been updated or deleted from the web. You can find this tool in the Google Search Console and submit the news URL that you want to remove. 

2. Send a Legal Content Removal Request to Google 

Struggling with a major issue like copyright infringement and doxxing ( if the news story has exposed personally identifiable information about you or your business)? 

For such issues, you can fill out a specific form in Google’s Legal Help Centre when the content of the TOI news story is illegal and contains highly sensitive personal information. 

3. Press Release 

Sharing a press release to clarify the entire issue is a great alternative to the complete removal of a Times of India news article. Through the press release, you can directly communicate with your target audience and the general public to share your side of the story. 

How to Write a Press Release as a Clarification? 

Press releases are one of the best ways to clarify the entire issue. Here are some tips and tricks to write an effective press release. 

• Issue the press release cum clarification immediately to control the public narrative and prevent the misinformation about you or your brand from spreading further. 
• Use a direct headline that can immediately inform the readers about the purpose of the matter. 
• Always present the crucial information in the initial paragraph of the press release, followed by other supporting details, quotes, and background details. 
• Clearly mention the inaccurate or misleading information in the TOI news story, and also provide the accurate facts. 
• Avoid using jargon and critical terms in the press release. 
• Add a quote from a key representative of your organisation ( it can be you as well) to add a human element to the press release. 

5  Common Mistakes to Avoid while Sending TOI Article Removal Request 

Till now, we have been talking about the effective strategies that you can implement to ensure the success of your Times of India article removal process. Now we will talk about the mistakes that you should avoid while requesting the removal of a negative Times of India article.  

Avoiding these mistakes can help you guarantee the TOI article removal. 

Mistake 1: Sending Abusive or Aggressive Emails 

Many think that if they send an aggressive email to the news media publication, the editorial team may consider removing the news story from their digital platforms. But in reality, it can escalate the situation. Sending an abusive or aggressive email is not a solution. 

A news story may seem negative to you or your brand, but it doesn’t mean that you should behave aggressively with the publisher. Rather, you can send a polite request to remove or update the news article, providing valid reasons.  

Mistake 2: Making False Legal Threats 

Imagine The Times of India has published a new article that contains no law violation. But if you’re making false legal threats to remove that specific news story because it can be harmful to your online reputation, it will be of no use. In fact, the publisher may file a legal case against you for making false claims. 

Mistake 3: Trying Unethical Techniques 

When a negative news story cannot be removed from online, many people often employ unethical techniques, like choosing to bypass paywalls to gain unethical access to a website. This practice should be strictly avoided as it can be considered a violation of the news website’s terms of service. 

Mistake 4: Expecting Instant Article Removal 

If you’re thinking that the Times of India article that you have requested to remove will be taken down immediately, you’re highly mistaken. A news article removal is not an easy process to conclude in such a small time period. 

You may have to wait for the news publisher’s response to your news article removal request. The editorial team of a prestigious media publication like The Times of India may take from a few days to a month to respond to a content removal request. In such regards, you cannot expect an immediate response or outcome to your content removal request. 

Mistake 5: Making False Allegations 

If you’re making false allegations against a specific news article, a renowned media publication like The Times of India may take legal action against you. While sending a formal news article removal request, you must provide valid reasons with proper references and evidence to prove your claim. So, making false allegations against a TOI news story to take it down just because you don’t like the content isn’t a good idea. 

Timeline You Can Expect to Remove a Times of India Article

Yes, it will take a significant amount of time to remove Times of India article. It can take a few weeks to some months – the timeframe often depends on several major factors, such as publisher cooperation, the type of content removal (if it’s de-indexing/complete removal/content updation), and legal strengths. 

Still, we’re offering you an expected timeframe for the completion of a Times of India article removal process. 

1. Average Response Timeline from TOI 

If you get the operation of The Times of India’s editorial team, you can expect the timeframe of 1-8 weeks for the complete removal of the article, and 1-6 weeks for removing your or your brand name from the news story.

• Negotiation/Legal Action: If the process involves negotiation and requires you to take legal action, it may take 3-12 months to complete the removal of the TOI news story. 

• Google De-indexing: It can take 2-14 days or 1-6 weeks for Google to take down the links of the TOI news article. 

• Google’s Outdated Content Tool: If you use this specific tool, it may take 14-30 days for large news publication sites to remove the news story link from Google search results. 

2. Factors Affecting Timeline 

There are also significant factors that majorly affect the timeline of the completion of a TOI news article removal. Here are some major factors that significantly impact the timeline. 

• The nature of the content  – While clear factual errors and privacy breaches get faster action, defamation or other sensitive issues may take longer. 

• The Times of India Policy – The terms and privacy policies often don’t allow for the complete removal of the news article if the reasons provided are not valid and strong enough. 

• Legal Strengths – A strong legal basis for a news story removal process can speed up court-ordered removal. So, legal strengths are important. 

• Types of Request: You can delete the content, or just want to hide it from the search results. The outcome and the timeframe completely depend on the type of formal content removal request you have submitted. 

3. Legal and Editorial Timeline 

Apart from the above-mentioned request, there is another timeline as well. After you submit a request for the news story removal, it will go for an editorial review. An editorial review will take from a few days to a few weeks, while it can take a few months to even a year if the process requires you to take some legal actions. 

What about a court order? 

A court order can mandate the removal of a TOI news article within 24-36 hours if the news story contains malicious and unlawful content. 

FAQs

Conclusion

If a prestigious news publication like The Times of India features a story on its digital platforms, it’s more likely that people will trust that news article and form a perception. A Times of India article can be damaging to your public image or your brand reputation. And the only solution is to remove it professionally!  

The process can seem like a daunting task, but not with a strategic approach. We hope that our comprehensive guide to remove Times of India article will help you seamlessly complete the TOI news article deletion process.