Journalists Praise Rolling Stone Story On Rape; Except It’s Not True

A Rolling Stone article detailed the story of a student named Jackie who was gang raped at a University of Virginia fraternity. The story gained worldwide attention. Without any evidence, the University took action by banning fraternities. Many journalists jumped on the bandwagon to report about the “culture of rape” on college campuses.

But, a big problem has emerged. With a little investigative work, the story has crumbled. Rolling Stone pushed the story without verifying its accuracy. More concerned about selling magazines and getting online traffic, Rolling Stone apparently had no concern for the truth or the lives the inaccurate reporting would destroy.

After the Washington Post reported the inaccuracies in Jackie’s story, Rolling Stone last week began to walk back the story with a statement.

 “In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie’s account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced.”

When the story was first published, many journalists rushed to praise Rolling Stone and writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely for helping initiate change and prevent violence towards women. So eager for change, these journalists swallowed the story without fact checking it as well. Many took to Twitter to praise Erdely.

 

 

Dana Liebelson with the Huffington Post deleted her tweet praising Erdely’s report.

 

Jeffrey Goldberg with the Atlantic also deleted his tweet praising Erdely. But, the internet is forever.

 

Do you trust the mainstream media to report credibly or do you feel they are reporting to push an agenda?