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Rolling Stone apologises for 'discrepancies' in university rape story

The magazine says its trust was misplaced.

 

rape

LAST MONTH A Rolling Stone article about an alleged gang rape at a University of Virginia frat house generated international headline and debate about rape culture and fraternity activities.

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The story alleged that a woman named Jackie (a nickname) had been attacked at a party in 2012. After its publication the university announced that it was suspending fraternity and sorority activity until January, and taking steps to address sexual violence on its campus.

Today, Rolling Stone has issued a statement in which is said “there now appear to be discrepancies’ in the article it published.

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Questions

Last week, the Washington Post and Slate questioned the article, wondering why the journalist who wrote it hasn’t contacted Jackie’s alleged attackers.

The journalist – Sabrina Rubin Erdley- told Slate that she was unable to contact those accused. She told the Washington Post that she had found Jackie to be credible, and that by focusing on her contact with the alleged attackers the Post was “getting sidetracked”.

She also said that the alleged attackers had not been contacted “by Jackie’s request”, stating that the woman was fearful of them.

Earlier this week the LA Times published a piece in which it said the Rolling Stone article had ‘stretched credulity’, calling some of the details “unpersuasive”.

Today the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is releasing a statement in which it rebuts many of the claims in the Rolling Stone article, including the date the alleged incident took place, and the descriptions of the alleged attackers.

According to the Washington Post friends of Jackie’s have also “come to doubt her account”. She herself has told the paper that she stands by her version of events.

The Rolling Stone statement has led to some anger regarding rape victims and rape reporting and the practices used in researching and publishing the original story.

 

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