On 19 November 2014, Rolling Stone published “A Rape on Campus” by Sabrina Erdely, an incendiary and malicious expose of gang-rape by U of Virginia fraternity brothers. Erdely’s story centered on UVA student Jackie Coakley, only identified as Jackie in the article, who was allegedly gang-raped at a Phi Kappa Psi party by several members that fraternity in 2012.

Mainstream journalists at Worth, Slate, and the Washington Post immediately began to question the sourcing and methods that went into the story. Rolling Stone, to quell the growing roar of disbelief, commissioned the Columbia School of Journalism to investigate the story and the magazine’s journalistic methods.

Columbia School of Journalism found that the “Rolling Stone’s repudiation of the main narrative in “A Rape on Campus” is a story of journalistic failure that was avoidable. The failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking.”

Jonathan Taylor of Title IX for All wrote, “Virtually every claim made by “Jackie” and chronicled by Sabrina Rubin Erdely in Rolling Stone has been objectively proven false.”

Multiple lawsuits by university personal and fraternity members were filed against Erdely and Rolling Stone in 2015 and 2017. The UVA lawsuit was settled for $3 million in damages against the magazine and Erdely. The PKP fraternity lawsuit was settled for $1.65 million. A lawsuit by members of Virginia Alpha chapter of PKP was settled though the fraternity members are bound by confidentiality agreement that does not allow comment or disclosure of terms.

Source: #uvahoax – UVA Rape Hoax by Jonathan Taylor Title IX for All, 2015. Rolling Stone’s Investigation by Sheila Coronel et al, CJR, 2015. Graphic: UVA Rape Hoax, Title IX for All copyright.