Anonymous wrote:Is Rolling Stone the same magazine that invented those rape allegations?
Yes, and they apologized for it and took additional steps.Rolling Stone apologized and officially retracted its 2014 article "A Rape on Campus," which was based on false rape allegations at the University of Virginia. After major discrepancies were revealed and police found no evidence to support the claims, the magazine issued an apology and commissioned an independent review by Columbia University, which identified serious journalistic failures. Rolling Stone also faced legal action and eventually settled a defamation lawsuit with the implicated fraternity for $1.65 million.
Just for balance and objectivity, here are some cases where right-leaning publication published false stories:
Fox News – Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory (2017)
Fox News published a story suggesting that Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was murdered because he had leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks. The claims were based on unverified sources and widely discredited by law enforcement. Fox News retracted the story a week later, stating it did not meet their editorial standards. No direct on-air apology was made, but the retraction was formally posted.
Breitbart News – Climate Change Article Retraction (2016)
Breitbart published an article claiming that a NOAA report exaggerating global warming was "fraudulent." The article misrepresented scientific data and the findings of the NOAA study. After complaints from scientists, Breitbart eventually removed or corrected parts of the article and posted a clarification, though they did not issue a full apology.
The Washington Times – Election Interference Claims (2020)
The Times published a story that a company, Scytl, had ties to voter fraud and the U.S. military had raided its servers in Germany. The claims were unfounded and widely debunked. The Washington Times issued a full retraction and apology, stating that the article was based on incorrect information.
And, of course, Fox News famously was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation and settled for $787.5 million before the trial was set to begin. This is one of the largest known media defamation settlements in U.S. history.