The story was quickly picked up nationally. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., cited it as a reason to pass federal legislation on campus sexual assault. People who questioned the story were accused of sexism. And University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan suspended the entire Greek system — not just the fraternity in question — in response. The U.Va. campus was rocked by protest, the fraternity house was vandalized, people were arrested, and U.Va. faculty members even staged their own protest.
Then, of course, the story fell apart. Whatever, if anything, happened to the Rolling Stone’s subject/victim “Jackie,” it seems clear that it wasn’t what Erdely reported. There was no party on the night of Sept. 28, and a pledge initiation wasn’t likely either since, as it turns out, pledges aren’t initiated until the spring. Many other details of the story also didn’t prove out, and it turned out that Rolling Stone had barely fact-checked even such simple details as dates of parties and pledge initiations. It had basically taken the word of one woman who, most tellingly, tried to withdraw from the story before publication.
The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple wrote: “The next time Erdely writes a big story, she’ll have to do a better job of camouflaging her proclivity to stereotype. Here, she refuses to evaluate the alleged gang rapists as individuals, instead opting to fold them into the caricature of the ‘elitist fraternity culture,’ and all its delicious implications.” His evaluation: “Anyone who touched this story — save newsstand personnel — should lose their job.” And even the newsstand folks might want to wash their hands.
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