Der Spiegel Editors Suspended Amid Investigation Of Fabricated Articles

The plot of Der Spiegel‘s reporting scandal continues. After the German magazine fired award-winning journalist Claas Relotius after he admitted to writing fabricated stories, an investigation was launched and now two senior editors have been suspended.

The weekly German news publication said that the editors Matthias Geyer and Ullrich Fichtner have been suspended in amid the investigation that Relotius invented stories in at least 14 articles that were published in print and online.

According to RTE, Editor in Chief Steffen Klusmann said in an internal letter that the suspension “will remain until the (magazine’s) internal commission has completed its investigation into the affair.”

Klusmann added, “The Relotius affair raises the question as to whether [Mr Ullrich and Mr Fichtner] can continue in their jobs after such a disaster.”

Der Spiegel recently announced that they are taking further action against Relotius. The publication says it has filed a criminal complaint against Relotius, for allegedly pocketing donations that readers believed were going to benefit Syrian children.