German magazine Der Spiegel says journalist fabricated stories over years | ReutersBERLIN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Germany's Der Spiegel magazine said on Wednesday it had fired Claas Relotius, an award-winning staff writer, after finding he fabricated and invented facts in many articles in recent years. Relotius, who is 33-years-old and started writing for Der Spiegel in 2011, was not available for comment.Der Spiegel said Relotius' senior editors confronted him after a fellow journalist at the magazine voiced suspicions. "Claas Relotius acted with intent, methodically and with a high level of criminal energy," Der Spiegel said, adding that he had written about and cited people he had never met or spoken to.Relotius told his editors that "it was not about having the next big thing. "The pressure not to fail became bigger the more successful I became," he said, according to Der Spiegel.Relotius most recently won an award in early December, for a story about a child in war-torn Syria. The German reporters' association, which handed out the award, said it was "aghast" and "angry" about the news.

Source: Egypt Today December 19, 2018 16:30 UTC