Rolling Stone apologizes for article about a rape – El Universal (Venezuela)

WASHINGTON The American magazine Rolling Stone apologized Monday and withdrew its website an article published last November on unverified accusations of an alleged gang rape occurred on a university campus.

Instead, the bimonthly published a report by the prestigious Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, pointing the “avoidable” errors of journalists who wrote the article.

is “the story of an avoidable journalistic error, an error that includes reporting, rereading the editorial supervision and verification of the facts,” note the report of 8,000 words which was commissioned by the magazine, famous for its detailed research, AFP reported.

“It was very painful to read this report, for me personally and for all of us in Rolling Stone,” admitted the chief editor of the magazine, Will Dana, in a note to enter text.

Published in November 2014, article recounted the gang rape of a girl identified as “Jackie”, who claimed to have been raped on the campus of the University of Virginia (east) in 2012, at a party a brotherhood.

The note sparked student protests and the suspension of the fraternities at the university. It also generated a national debate on sexual violence on campuses in the United States.

The police then opened an investigation, but the truth of the facts was questioned by various means, including the Washington Post, which exposed the journalistic errors committed in the article, as verifying sources.

In March, after five months of investigation, police found that there was sufficient evidence that would confirm the version of the alleged victim .

The police chief of Charlottesville, Virginia, Timothy Longo, had explained “not being able to conclude to a substantial extent that there has been an incident at the home of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity or any other fraternity. “

” This does not mean that something terrible has not happened to Jackie, just have not been able to gather enough data to determine what happened. “

The brotherhood question had denied the version of “Jackie” denying having organized a party the night in which the woman claimed to have been assaulted, an element that police confirmed.

Currently, the case is suspended but not closed , leaving the door open to further investigation if new evidence appears.

In December, the magazine had retracted his story, saying he had made a mistake by believing version of the alleged victim, without seeking other sources.