How to Remove News Articles About Your Arrest
The hardest category to clear — here's what's realistically possible, and what isn't.
Not usually, at least not the way a mugshot site listing can be. Legitimate journalism has strong legal protection, and a news outlet reporting on a real, newsworthy arrest generally has every right to keep that article published — even years later, even after your case was resolved in your favor. This is the most honest thing we can tell you about this category: removal isn't the default outcome the way it can be with a commercial mugshot aggregator.
That said, "usually not" isn't "never." There are a few real, legitimate paths worth trying, in roughly this order.
A growing number of newsrooms have adopted formal "right to be forgotten" or unpublishing policies, particularly for minor, older stories about non-violent arrests where charges were dropped or the person was never convicted. Many outlets will also update — rather than remove — a story to reflect a case's final outcome (dismissal, acquittal, expungement) if you provide documentation, even when they won't take the article down entirely.
A direct, respectful request to the newsroom's editor, with documentation of your case's outcome, is worth doing regardless of outcome — some outlets say yes, and even a partial update (adding your case's resolution) can matter for how the story reads.
Even when a newsroom won't remove or update an article, it's sometimes possible to get the result de-indexed from Google specifically, separate from asking the publisher to do anything. Our Google removal guide covers the relevant tools, including where they do and don't apply to news content.
When an article genuinely can't be removed or de-indexed, the realistic fallback is suppression: building enough legitimate, positive, and relevant content about you — a professional profile, a personal site, active social profiles — that it ranks above the article for searches of your name. This doesn't erase the article, but it changes what someone sees first, which is often what actually matters for a background check or a first impression.
We start every case with an honest assessment of which category your situation falls into — a realistic removal or update request, a de-indexing opportunity, or a suppression strategy — rather than promising a guaranteed takedown on a category of content that doesn't always allow for one. Where removal or de-indexing is realistic, we pursue it the same way we do with any other listing: directly, and with follow-through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I force a news site to remove an article about my arrest?
Generally no — legitimate news reporting on a real arrest has strong legal protection, even after your case is resolved. Some newsrooms will voluntarily unpublish or update a story on request, but there's no guaranteed legal right to force removal the way there sometimes is with a commercial mugshot site.
Will updating a news article with my case outcome help?
Often, yes. Many outlets are more willing to add an update noting a dismissal, acquittal, or expungement than to remove the story entirely, and that update can meaningfully change how the story reads to someone searching your name.
Can Google remove a news article from search results?
Sometimes, through the same de-indexing tools used for other content, though news content is held to a different standard than a commercial mugshot listing. It's worth attempting, but it's not guaranteed.
What if a news article can't be removed at all?
We shift to suppression — helping legitimate, positive content about you outrank the article in search results, since that's often what actually affects how you're perceived by someone searching your name.
Get an Honest Read on Your Case
We'll tell you plainly whether removal, an update, or suppression is realistic for your situation.