In a November 19, 2015 story, Rolling Stone writer Sabrina Rubin Erdely described in horrific detail how a UVA student, given the made up name Jackie, was lured two years earlier by her date into a dark room at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house and brutally raped by seven men. But the Washington Post, and other news outlets, soon discovered inconsistencies in the 9,000-word story, “A Rape on Campus.”
On November 22, the initial response of the story is felt, and outrage spreads as people read and respond to the article. The UVA president Teresa Sullivan suspends all campus fraternities, sororities, and Greek organizations due to community pressure.
On November 24, Richard Bradley, former editor for George magazine, writes an essay, questioning the events of the story, and states that something about the piece didn’t feel right.
On November 28, Erdely describes how she came to write the story. Erdely says that after deciding to write about sexual assault on campus, she spent six weeks talking to students across the country and eventually settled on UVA. She says she was introduced to Jackie by Emily Renda, a leader in UVA 's sexual-assault group and that Jackie was bursting at the seems to get her story out.
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Sean Woods, editor of Rolling Stone states that he is confident that they exist and that their existence has been verified.
On December 5, the Washington Post raises major questions about the inconsistencies of the story and launches an in-house investigation to uncover the truth. That same day, Rolling Stone releases a statement stating that there may have been some discrepancies in the story, and that “there trust in Jackie (the rape victim in the story) was misplaced”
Over the course of the next month, more evidence is brought against the Rolling Stone story, including, the friends in the story coming forward to admit that the guy who had “raped” Jackie was a fabrication, that no attempt was made to contact them, and that the events of the night in question are grossly exaggerated.
On December 22, 2014, the Rolling Stone asks the Columbia Journalism School to conduct an independent review of the story.
Following the investigation launched by UVA president into the story, police find that there is no reason to believe a rape took place at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house, and that according to fraternity records, no event had taken place the night of the alleged