‘Rolling Stone’ Magazine Apologizes for UVa Rape Article, Noting ‘Discrepancies’

[Updated (12/5/2014, 2:26 p.m.) with the statement released by the fraternity.]

The magazine Rolling Stone has apologized for a widely read article it published last month chronicling the alleged gang rape of a University of Virginia student at a campus fraternity party. Noting “discrepancies” in the account of the student—identified only by her first name, Jackie—the magazine said, “we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced.”

The fraternity chapter in question, Phi Kappa Psi, released a statement on Friday afternoon disputing details offered in the article, including that it did not have a party on the weekend when the rape was alleged to have happened.

See a timeline of events, as well as comments on social media, about the saga of the Rolling Stone article.

The Washington Post broke the news of the fraternity’s rebuttal on Friday, also citing interviews with Jackie’s friends and with campus sexual-assault advocates who say they now doubt Rolling Stone’s account. Media critics had already questioned aspects of the article.

The article, which follows Jackie from the brutal details of the alleged rape to her struggles in reporting the incident, hit the Charlottesville campus like a bombshell. Following criticism that her initial response was inadequate, Teresa A. Sullivan, the university’s president, issued a strong statement seeming to accept the details of the account. Earlier this week she outlined a series of changes the university would carry out in response to the article and subsequent protests.