'Journalistic Failure' in Rolling Stone Report of U.Va. Gang Rape

Image from Rolling Stone’s November 2014 article, “A Rape on Campus.”

Rolling Stone writers and editors failed to vet a horrifying account of gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house that has now been discredited, according to a new report by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Completely retracted on Sunday, the magazine’s November cover story was thought to confirm the worst perceptions of a rape culture at universities and in greek life. Instead, the victim‘s story has been discredited and local police have said they will not pursue the case — reinforcing the worst perceptions that victims have when they’re weighing whether to report a rape or assault.

Leaders of the fraternity chapter at the center of the accusations, Phi Kappa Psi, announced in a statement Monday that they are planning legal action against Rolling Stone.

Chapter president Stephen Scipione said in a statement that the Columbia report “demonstrates the reckless nature in which Rolling Stone researched and failed to verify facts in its article that erroneously accused Phi Kappa Psi of crimes its members did not commit.”

• Discrepancies in UVA Gang Rape Account Raise Doubts
• Greek Life a No-Go at University of Mary Washington

Published on Rolling Stone’s website Sunday, Columbia’s review analyzed the production of the article, retracing the steps of the writers and editors as they first sought an emblematic story of rape on a college campus. Later, they focused intently on the single case of “Jackie,” a U.Va. student who had claimed seven young men had raped her following a Phi Kappa Psi party.

The Columbia report found, “The magazine set aside or rationalized as unnecessary essential practices of reporting that, if pursued, would likely have led the magazine’s editors to reconsider publishing Jackie’s narrative so prominently, if at all.”

The Rolling Stone article received national attention quickly after publication, placing fraternities under a microscope. But media critics soon began questioning events in the story and the heavy weight placed on Jackie’s account of events.

Investigations have found that a party never occurred on the night Jackie had claimed she was assaulted and other details regarding the people and events involved in the story were found to be untrue.

“Even if Rolling Stone did not trust Phi Kappa Psi’s motivations, if it had given the fraternity a chance to review the allegations in detail, the factual discrepancies the fraternity would likely have reported might have led Erdely and her editors to try to verify Jackie’s account more thoroughly,” according to the Columbia report.

Read more of the Columbia School report at Rolling Stone.