The bottom line? The Rolling Stone didn’t verify or fact check Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s story, her source “Jackie” and went ahead in publishing a false gang rape story. And what did Erdely say, after all this? In the New York Times, she released a statement that did not apologize to the fraternity she accused of raping “Jackie”:
“The past few months, since my Rolling Stone article “A Rape on Campus” was first called into question, have been among the most painful of my life. Reading the Columbia account of the mistakes and misjudgments in my reporting was a brutal and humbling experience. I want to offer my deepest apologies: to Rolling Stone’s readers, to my Rolling Stone editors and colleagues, to the U.V.A. community, and to any victims of sexual assault who may feel fearful as a result of my article.”
