The University of Virginia chapter of Phi Kappa Psi has announced it will pursue “all available legal action” against Rolling Stone magazine for its debunked and now fully retracted story about an alleged gang rape at the frat’s UVA house. In a statement, Phi Psi called the story “a sad example of the decline of journalistic standards.”
The statement calls the story defamatory, saying it was published with a “reckless” disregard for the facts. That is the textbook definition of the basis for a defamation lawsuit. It looks likely too that they’ll ask for damages related to the vandalizing of the frat house the day after the story was published. Here’s the key part of the statement:
After 130 days of living under a cloud of suspicion as a result of reckless reporting by Rolling Stone Magazine, today the Virginia Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi announced plans to pursue all available legal action against the magazine.
“The report by Columbia University’s school of journalism demonstrate the reckless nature in which Rolling Stone researched and failed to verify facts in its article before that erroneously accused Phi Kappa Psi of crimes its members did not commit,” said Stephen Sciopione, president of the Virginia Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi. “This type of reporting serves as a sad example of a serious decline of journalistic standards.
The Rolling Stone article viewed by millions fueled a court of public opinion that ostracized Phi Kappa Psi members and led to the vandalization of the fraternity house. According to the Columbia report:
“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. The magazine set aside or rationalized as unnecessary essential practices of reporting that, if pursued, would likely have led the magazine’s editors to reconsider publishing Jackie’s narrative so prominently, if at all.”
The statement also says the national media “descended” on the frat house and cast them as “iconic” examples of the problem of campus rape, saying, “To this day images of the fraternity house continue to be used by news organizations to cover this issue on other campuses,” despite the conclusions of both Columbia and the Charlottesville police department.
Sciopione also expressed concern about how the Rolling Stone story might affect victims of campus rape.