Legal pressure forces Delta to take article offline

On behalf of the Director named in the story, a law firm ordered Delta to remove the article. If we would not do so, we would be charged with libel or slander.

Later, the Legal Department at TU Delft also sent an email. In the email the Department also ordered the Editorial Office to remove the article from the website and other platforms on the grounds that confidential documents may not be quoted in connection with labour rights. Should Delta not comply, TU Delft, which employs all Delta’s editors, would make Delta and the Editor in Chief personally liable for any damage incurred by TU Delft.

Seeking out the truth is a core task of journalism and hence of the Editorial Office of Delta. It is essential for our professionality. It also involves handling information and sources carefully. For this story, we had several sources, and each statement is substantiated. We stand behind every word in the article. While it goes against our professional ethics, we nevertheless opted – under protest – to take the item offline. We did this not because we submit to legal intimidation, but because we are of the opinion that TU Delft can use its money and time in better ways than starting legal proceedings against its own employees.

We do our work for TU Delft as well as we can and in the belief that TU Delft can only become a healthy working environment if there is space to discuss problems openly and honestly. The diagnosis first needs to be made, and thereafter the treatment plan.

TU Delft opts for this approach, a confirmation of the situation in which the Inspectorate of Education believes TU Delft is in.

We are only doing our journalism work and will continue to do so. We thank all our readers for your trust in us. If you have any tips: tudelta@protonmail.com