Fact or Fiction? Rolling Stone's UVA Gang Rape Story (1 Viewer)

[johnnycakes]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/05/us/rolling-stone-uva-apology/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

"Our trust was misplaced"

wtf?

I see the lawyers read RS.

 

[TobiasFunke]

2-8% is usually the reported figure. I have no reason to doubt it and have never really seen anyone challenge it.

Without digging into any of the articles cited in this piece, I walked away from the first three pages completely convinced that "2%-8%" is junk science. The actual number of false or mistaken (two totally different things BTW) accusations is inherently unknowable.

Probably, but there seems to be an academic consensus on the number, and DOJ agrees, according to the wikipedia entry and its citations.

Regardless of whether that number is accurate or not, I think my initial statement that there are "so few" false claims was reasonable. I'm pretty confident that the number of false claims is a small fraction of the total number of claims.

There's also a "consensus" on the statistic that one in five women is sexually assaulted in college, but that number is best understood as an urban legend as well.

I'll go ahead and be blunt on this one. The academics who compile statistics on these sorts of issues tend to come from fields where rigorous quantitative analysis is not in surplus, but ideological agendas are. So when somebody in Criminal Justice (or whatever) says "Well, police say that 41% of complaints are false, but what do the police know?" and proceed to come up with a figure of 1/20 that amount, I am incredibly skeptical. Especially when we're talking about a topic that requires mind-reading to have any level of certainty.

Edit: That's not to say that the 41% number is right either. No matter how you do this, you are going to have massive tradeoffs of Type 1 and Type 2 errors. If you classify every report that simply causes a jaded detective's BS detector to go off, you're going to get a number that's probably unreasonably high. And if your standard is "proven without a doubt to be false," you're going to get what is likely an unreasonably low number.

Fair points. It is an unknowable number. So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

 

[dhockster]

Both the report and "Jackie" need to be prosecuted. This type of thing sets back awareness and perception of these types of issues an damages the reputation of future actual assault victims who bring legitimate claims.

The president of UVA needs to resign immeditely as well.

They should probably just burn down the entire campus immediately as well.

two V-Tech fans?

Ugh... even more horrific than the story as this really sets back so many who have legitimately been assaulted. Just awful.

My thoughts exactly. There are so few false claims of rape, if one a second of the most high-profile cases (Duke lacrosse team being the first) turns out to be fictional it would be a tragedy both for the falsely accused frat members and the rape victims who will end up facing a lot of skepticism as a result. What a disaster.

Fixed

Yes, that was awful too.

Take it easy on the "fixed" shtick, though. Nothing in my post says that this would be the first ever high profile false rape accusation.

I was responding more to your "there are so few false claims of rape". I think there are more than you think. Tawana Braley is another high profile case.

And no, I am not defending rapists. I would love for all rapists to tried and convicted. I would also like for false charges of rape to go away and not ruin lives and reputations.

just so we're on the same page; what would be an acceptable number of false claims?

None? Will that ever happen? of course not. But the media needs to do their due diligence before they publish stories like this. It's not just a harmless mistake if they are wrong. It can literally ruin lives and reputations.

 

[FUBAR]

None? Will that ever happen? of course not. But the media needs to do their due diligence before they publish stories like this. It's not just a harmless mistake if they are wrong. It can literally ruin lives and reputations.

yeah, we've dealt with that all too often.

 

[Reaper]

Another person making up lies because they feel the Ends Justify the means.. Screw the collateral damage.

Uggggh stuff happening out here Top to Bottom.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

That's fair.

 

[McGarnicle]

RS didn't even contact the accused before running the story??? Pretty fundamental error in "journalism" there...though really they are less a news source and more left-wing activist anyway.

 

[nirad3]

Statement from Fraternity:

Over the past two weeks the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi has been working tirelessly and openly with the Charlottesville Police Department as they investigate the allegations detailed in the November 19, 2014 Rolling Stone article. We continue to be shocked by the allegations and saddened by this story. We have no knowledge of these alleged acts being committed at our house or by our members. Anyone who commits any form of sexual assault, wherever or whenever, should be identified and brought to justice.

In tandem with the Charlottesville Police Department’s investigation, the Chapter’s undergraduate members have made efforts to contribute with internal fact-finding. Our initial doubts as to the accuracy of the article have only been strengthened as alumni and undergraduate members have delved deeper. Given the ongoing nature of the criminal investigation, which we fully support, we do not feel it would be appropriate at this time to provide more than the following:

First, the 2012 roster of employees at the Aquatic and Fitness Center does not list a Phi Kappa Psi as a lifeguard. As far as we have determined, no member of our fraternity worked there in any capacity during this time period.

Second, the Chapter did not have a date function or a social event during the weekend of September 28th, 2012.

Third, our Chapter's pledging and initiation periods, as required by the University and Inter-Fraternity Council, take place solely in the spring semester and not in the fall semester. We document the initiation of new members at the end of each spring. Moreover, no ritualized sexual assault is part of our pledging or initiation process. This notion is vile, and we vehemently refute this claim.

It is our hope that this information will encourage people who may know anything relevant to this case to contact the Charlottesville Police Department as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to assist investigators in whatever way we can.

 

[sbonomo]

I have the feeling that false rape claims are pretty common.

When I was in the Army my roommate was accused of rape by a girl he was seeing but had stopped seeing. She accused him of raping her at X time in our room, not realizing that I had stayed in town over that weekend (it was a long weekend) and I was in the room when she claimed it occurred. My roommate was already in the base jail having been arrested by CID. My testimony freed him the though. Nothing happened to his accuser... and this was apparently the 3rd dude she has accused of rape during her brief time in the military thus far.

A buddy of mine in college sat in jail for over three months due to a consensual experience. The girl decided two days later, after he did not want anything long term, that she was raped (his first time by the way). When it was time to actually go to court she could not remember what happened. He never fully rebounded, dropping out of school and being forced to move back home. This story pisses me off.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

RS didn't even contact the accused before running the story??? Pretty fundamental error in "journalism" there...though really they are less a news source and more left-wing activist anyway.

Not contacting the accused is the focus of the RS apology, but it appears the main "facts" in the story that are now refuted is the date of the party, floorplan at the frat as described in the story, and the status of one of the main culprits, now said to not be a member of the frat. The difficulty with fact-checking a story like this is that you need to confirm the big things but also the seemingly small details like like where a staircase runs in a building. If your story mentions that a kid's hair is brown, but it turns out to be black, that discrepancy will often call the entire underlying story into question. People overreact to these things. In this case, many had the frat boys drawn and quartered based on the initial article. Now, everyone is assuming the story is a complete fabrication, nothing happened and want to hang the accuser, all because the date was wrong and a few other factual assertions have been disputed. But of course its still possible that a crime was committed.

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

 

[SacramentoBob]

I've always felt the penalty for perjury should be the maximum sentence of the crime falsely alleged.

Yup. Penalty should be double if you work in the criminal justice system.

 

[GroveDiesel]

RS didn't even contact the accused before running the story??? Pretty fundamental error in "journalism" there...though really they are less a news source and more left-wing activist anyway.

Not contacting the accused is the focus of the RS apology, but it appears the main "facts" in the story that are now refuted is the date of the party, floorplan at the frat as described in the story, and the status of one of the main culprits, now said to not be a member of the frat. The difficulty with fact-checking a story like this is that you need to confirm the big things but also the seemingly small details like like where a staircase runs in a building. If your story mentions that a kid's hair is brown, but it turns out to be black, that discrepancy will often call the entire underlying story into question. People overreact to these things. In this case, many had the frat boys drawn and quartered based on the initial article. Now, everyone is assuming the story is a complete fabrication, nothing happened and want to hang the accuser, all because the date was wrong and a few other factual assertions have been disputed. But of course its still possible that a crime was committed.

Of course, but for a crime to have been committed it sounds like it would have had to have been at a different frat entirely. And in a different semester. And a different weekend. And, and, and.

 

[DCThunder]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

No SJW can afford to let a crisis (even if false) go to waste.

 

[McGarnicle]

RS didn't even contact the accused before running the story??? Pretty fundamental error in "journalism" there...though really they are less a news source and more left-wing activist anyway.

Not contacting the accused is the focus of the RS apology, but it appears the main "facts" in the story that are now refuted is the date of the party, floorplan at the frat as described in the story, and the status of one of the main culprits, now said to not be a member of the frat. The difficulty with fact-checking a story like this is that you need to confirm the big things but also the seemingly small details like like where a staircase runs in a building. If your story mentions that a kid's hair is brown, but it turns out to be black, that discrepancy will often call the entire underlying story into question. People overreact to these things. In this case, many had the frat boys drawn and quartered based on the initial article. Now, everyone is assuming the story is a complete fabrication, nothing happened and want to hang the accuser, all because the date was wrong and a few other factual assertions have been disputed. But of course its still possible that a crime was committed.

Of course, but for a crime to have been committed it sounds like it would have had to have been at a different frat entirely. And in a different semester. And a different weekend. And, and, and.

Yeah, it looks to be completely fabricated which RS could have learned if they did their job. Absolutely unforgivable IMO. Glad I already canceled my subscription years ago.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Yeah, it looks to be completely fabricated which RS could have learned if they did their job. Absolutely unforgivable IMO. Glad I already canceled my subscription years ago.

Was it really completely fabricated or RS just screwed up a lot of important facts?

(I've only had a chance to read some of the most recent news)

 

[Koya]

Yeah, it looks to be completely fabricated which RS could have learned if they did their job. Absolutely unforgivable IMO. Glad I already canceled my subscription years ago.

Was it really completely fabricated or RS just screwed up a lot of important facts?

(I've only had a chance to read some of the most recent news)

Completely fabricated? Who knows. But enough of this is clear bs that none of it can be believed and that is no ones fault other than the accuser. Whatever of her story is legit she has given up any right to in regard to us not believing her and not expecting anyone following up.

 

[pantherclub]

Yeah, it looks to be completely fabricated which RS could have learned if they did their job. Absolutely unforgivable IMO. Glad I already canceled my subscription years ago.

Was it really completely fabricated or RS just screwed up a lot of important facts?

(I've only had a chance to read some of the most recent news)

does that really matter?

 

[FUBAR]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

 

[tommyboy]

"Fake But Accurate"™

 

[Smack Tripper]

Don't know if you guys have followed but this is another story that is being DRAMATICALLY underplayed right now, along the same lines:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/12/03/investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

TLR Lena Dunham accuses a college republican of rape in her books and looks to be complete bunk

Rape is a vile disguting thing and deserves harsh justice, but likewise, false accusations deserve the same punishment. Once you get the stench of that accusation attached to you, its very hard to remove, even when exonerated

 

[TenTimes]

How did the OP sniff this out as a possible snopes entry but an entire magazine staff didn't?

I'm going to say someone at RS figured this was probably fake but wanted it published anyway. It's time to retire the idea that "No publicity is bad publicity", but it was a hell of a run

 

[McGarnicle]

Don't know if you guys have followed but this is another story that is being DRAMATICALLY underplayed right now, along the same lines:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/12/03/investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

TLR Lena Dunham accuses a college republican of rape in her books and looks to be complete bunk

Rape is a vile disguting thing and deserves harsh justice, but likewise, false accusations deserve the same punishment. Once you get the stench of that accusation attached to you, its very hard to remove, even when exonerated

Who the #### would rape that hosebeast?

 

[GroveDiesel]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

Rape, by its nature IS a big problem, but I'm guessing you mean by the numbers. And what we think of as "rape", forcible sexual assault, is actually pretty low on college campuses. Surveys show an actual drop in women who are forcible sexually assaulted before college as compared to during college.

 

[FUBAR]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

Rape, by its nature IS a big problem, but I'm guessing you mean by the numbers. And what we think of as "rape", forcible sexual assault, is actually pretty low on college campuses. Surveys show an actual drop in women who are forcible sexually assaulted before college as compared to during college.

Not that you'd know this, but the rapes my colleagues and I deal with are mostly alcohol related. Which is not "low" on campuses.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

That's fair.

I've seen estimates that it's around 1 in 10.

By all accounts something happened to that girl, and it's not like she went looking for this story either. RS found her. But something's definitely not adding up

 

[GroveDiesel]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

Rape, by its nature IS a big problem, but I'm guessing you mean by the numbers. And what we think of as "rape", forcible sexual assault, is actually pretty low on college campuses. Surveys show an actual drop in women who are forcible sexually assaulted before college as compared to during college.

Not that you'd know this, but the rapes my colleagues and I deal with are mostly alcohol related. Which is not "low" on campuses.

Oh, I agree. Alcohol related incidents are definitely the major problem. And they absolutely ARE a problem in every sense of the word. They're a problem because scummy guys take advantage of drunk or passed out women. And they're a problem because both parties are often drunk and the issue of consent is really fuzzy. And they're a problem because sometimes women get drunk, consent to sex and then simply regret having sex with that guy.

It's one reason why I think this story, whether true or not, is a horrible poster child for the sexual assault issues on campuses. By her own account, she didn't drink at all. This was an all out forcible gang rape of a sober individual if true. And that's way outside the norm of what we're talking about being a problem on campuses.

Honestly, it just kind of makes me mad that people flip out and accuse people of victims blaming when others point out that the best way for women to protect themselves is simply not to be getting inebriated. And guys could protect themselves by making sure they aren't getting drunk and not having sex with someone who has been drinking. But rather than addressing the actions that lead to all these poor decisions and qwful consequences, we keep trying to make dumber and dumber rules. Because the bottom line is that if the party scene continues to exist, then nothing else will matter,

 

[pantherclub]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

based on what, girls like this totally embellishing stories?

 

[jonessed]

They blew this thing up nationally on the say-so of one ####### person? When did Rolling Stone become such a rag? I knew it was tough in journalism, but this is low.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

How did the OP sniff this out as a possible snopes entry but an entire magazine staff didn't?

This guy called it a couple of weeks ago. Gotta take my hat off to this fellow. When I read this story originally, I thought it was incredibly brazen for seven guys to gang-rape an acquaintance, but I assumed the story was true nonetheless. It took somebody who was trained in journalism to tell that this was a hoax. When I read Bradley's piece for the first time earlier this week, all of the sudden it seemed so obvious, but I'll be honest and say that I was completely duped at first.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

That's fair.

I've seen estimates that it's around 1 in 10.

By all accounts something happened to that girl, and it's not like she went looking for this story either. RS found her. But something's definitely not adding up

This is actually a huge point. The author of this story went from campus to campus, looking for something that would fit her "rape culture" narrative. She struck out a bunch of times before stumbling upon "Jackie" at UVA and running with her story without bothering to follow up. This was an agenda-driven piece that ended up ending the author's career, most likely.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

That's fair.

I've seen estimates that it's around 1 in 10.

By all accounts something happened to that girl, and it's not like she went looking for this story either. RS found her. But something's definitely not adding up

Sorry to hipple this thread, but I've been following this story pretty closely since the original RS article, because it hits on a hugely hot topic in academia. Apparently Jackie was going around to various support groups and advocacy groups on campus with this story. Lots of people had heard her tell this story before. It didn't have to be drug out of her -- she put it out there herself. And it does actually appear to be a complete fabrication. This is like Jack attending his bi-monthly sickle cell circle.

Remember that article by George Will that everybody got all pissed about when he said that some people on college campuses actively seek out "victim" status? I expect to see an "I told you so" column any day now.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Crazy that she was raped for 3 hours on shards of broken glass. I imagine she got medical treatment for that at some point and there's a record at a hospital somewhere.

 

[GroveDiesel]

So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

That's fair.

I've seen estimates that it's around 1 in 10.

By all accounts something happened to that girl, and it's not like she went looking for this story either. RS found her. But something's definitely not adding up

Sorry to hipple this thread, but I've been following this story pretty closely since the original RS article, because it hits on a hugely hot topic in academia. Apparently Jackie was going around to various support groups and advocacy groups on campus with this story. Lots of people had heard her tell this story before. It didn't have to be drug out of her -- she put it out there herself. And it does actually appear to be a complete fabrication. This is like Jack attending his bi-monthly sickle cell circle.

Remember that article by George Will that everybody got all pissed about when he said that some people on college campuses actively seek out "victim" status? I expect to see an "I told you so" column any day now.

Posted it on at least one forum as well.

Should have been huge red flags when she refused to not only name the attackers she knew, but also refused to give the names of her 3 friends that saw her right after and told her not to tell anyone because they wouldn't be invited to other frat parties.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Should have been huge red flags when she refused to not only name the attackers she knew, but also refused to give the names of her 3 friends that saw her right after and told her not to tell anyone because they wouldn't be invited to other frat parties.

True, but again, I completely believed this the first time I read it. Looking back on it now, I can't figure out why. In hindsight this is like something straight out of Homer X: Portrait of an ###-Grabber ("This is sexual harassment, and if you don't stop I'll scream so loud the whole country will hear!" "What, with a MAN in the White House?"). But I believed it at the time.

This is a disturbing story to me because I'm not anti-frat or anti-South or all caught up in the "rape culture" ideological agenda, but I still fell for this story hook, line, and sinker until somebody else pointed out what should have been obvious. Honestly this is pretty humbling.

 

[Mr. Know-It-All]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

EXACTLY. That is what sickens me about false accusations of this nature. Then the person that really is raped is put through hell when no one believes her.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Someone tweeted yesterday: "So as I understand it, Atticus Finch is now the bad guy in "To Kill A Mockingbird," because he doubted a story about rape."

That's gonna sting.

 

[FUBAR]

What ticks me off about this story - is even when the allegations are proven to be patently false - the common refrain is that even though THIS story might be false, it cannot be dismissed that xyz does happen and is a big problem. Lies are applauded as shining light on social injustices.

Understand your point but rape is a big problem. A huge problem here is people may be less likely to believe the next person.

based on what, girls like this totally embellishing stories?

You have stinky bait.

 

[chauncey]

Don't know if you guys have followed but this is another story that is being DRAMATICALLY underplayed right now, along the same lines:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/12/03/investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

TLR Lena Dunham accuses a college republican of rape in her books and looks to be complete bunk

Rape is a vile disguting thing and deserves harsh justice, but likewise, false accusations deserve the same punishment. Once you get the stench of that accusation attached to you, its very hard to remove, even when exonerated

I could only tolerate a few episodes of her show and didn't even know she had a book out. If this is true (she fabricated a rape story) then I would hope there is some backlash. It is such a disservice to actual victims for this kind of attention whoring to occur.

 

[McGarnicle]

Don't know if you guys have followed but this is another story that is being DRAMATICALLY underplayed right now, along the same lines:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/12/03/investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

TLR Lena Dunham accuses a college republican of rape in her books and looks to be complete bunk

Rape is a vile disguting thing and deserves harsh justice, but likewise, false accusations deserve the same punishment. Once you get the stench of that accusation attached to you, its very hard to remove, even when exonerated

I could only tolerate a few episodes of her show and didn't even know she had a book out. If this is true (she fabricated a rape story) then I would hope there is some backlash. It is such a disservice to actual victims for this kind of attention whoring to occur.

That story is absolutely disgusting. She's vague about identifying the guy, but there is a real dude who people assume is the rapist and she's leaving him twisting in the wind. Either confirm it's him and stand by your story or let this guy go back to living his life. ####### ugly pig.

 

[rockaction]

So let's just say that I based on what I've read I think I had a pretty reasonable basis to say that there are "so few" false rape claims, relative to the number of valid ones.

That's fair.

I've seen estimates that it's around 1 in 10.

By all accounts something happened to that girl, and it's not like she went looking for this story either. RS found her. But something's definitely not adding up

Sorry to hipple this thread, but I've been following this story pretty closely since the original RS article, because it hits on a hugely hot topic in academia. Apparently Jackie was going around to various support groups and advocacy groups on campus with this story. Lots of people had heard her tell this story before. It didn't have to be drug out of her -- she put it out there herself. And it does actually appear to be a complete fabrication. This is like Jack attending his bi-monthly sickle cell circle.

Remember that article by George Will that everybody got all pissed about when he said that some people on college campuses actively seek out "victim" status? I expect to see an "I told you so" column any day now.

Maybe so. People in that thread wouldn't address the due process claims, so you certainly won't see any mea culpas. You just got a whole lot of of lockstep, "That's stupid." (Say it with a Hampshire college voice and you've got the general thought process of anyone who read the article.) Ironically, according to Dan Riehl (linked through Instapundit), one of the main sources for the RS article actively served on Obama's WH task force regarding outreach for the new Title IX regs.

However, it sounds like there's more to the story to come as there was indeed a man with a similar name, living in a house nearby, who does fit the facts of the story.

Stay tuned...

Whoops.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

By all accounts something happened to that girl, and it's not like she went looking for this story either. RS found her. But something's definitely not adding up

This is actually a huge point. The author of this story went from campus to campus, looking for something that would fit her "rape culture" narrative. She struck out a bunch of times before stumbling upon "Jackie" at UVA and running with her story without bothering to follow up. This was an agenda-driven piece that ended up ending the author's career, most likely.

And she apparently wanted to back out of the story once Rolling Stone started poking around, but Rolling Stone said they were running with it anyway, so she eventually agreed to participate on the condition that she could review and make corrections to the story before it went to press. Megan McArdle gives a pretty good summary of the ordeal.

Incidentally, here's McArdle's article from a few months ago on the percentage of rape accusations that are false.

How Many Rape Reports Are False?SEPT 19, 2014 3:15 PM EDT
By Megan McArdle
How many women falsely accuse men of rape?

A lot of statistics are floating around the Internet: Two percent, say many feminists, the same as other crimes. Twenty-five percent, say other groups who quarrel with the feminists on many issues, or maybe 40 percent. Here’s the real answer: We don’t know. Anyone who insists that we do know should be corrected or ignored.

The number of false accusations is what statisticians call a “dark number” -- that is, there is a true number, but it is unknown, and perhaps unknowable. For a deep dive into the reasons it’s so hard to know, I commend you to Cathy Young’s new piece at Slate, in which she details all the problems that confound investigations into false rape accusations.

Here’s what we do know: The 2 percent number is very bad and should never be cited. It apparently traces its lineage back to Susan Brownmiller’s legendary "Against Our Will," and her citation for this figure is a single speech by an appellate judge before a small group of lawyers. His source for this statistic was a single area of New York that started having policewomen conduct all rape interviews. This is not data. It is an anecdote about an anecdote.

The 41 percent number beloved of men’s-rights activists is better; it involves a peer-reviewed study by Eugene Kanin of a police department in some unknown small city. False reports could only be declared if the victim herself withdrew the charge. However. We’re talking about one city, in which 109 rapes were examined over a period of nine years. As feminists point out, victims might have withdrawn the charges simply because they found it too traumatic to engage with the police department, not because the accusation was false1 . And the study itself is now pretty elderly. A lot has changed in 20 years, including, possibly, the number of false rape accusations in this city and the rest of the nation. This number should be used only with grave caution.

But so should any other numbers, such as the 8 percent figure that is commonly attributed to the FBI. When you dig into the research itself, you find it is often heavily inflected with the authors' prior beliefs about what constitutes the “real problem”: unreported cases of rape or false reports? So Kanin is frequently chided for accepting the results of a police department investigation that included offering the victims a polygraph, because this is intimidating for true victims as well as women making false reports, and it could raise the incidence of false negatives. On the other hand, if the rate of false rape reports is quite high -- much higher than that of other crimes -- then this might be a reasonable precaution. It’s possible that by encouraging police departments not to polygraph rape victims, we have fixed a cruel system in which innocent victims are bullied into recanting. It’s also possible that we’ve increased the number of false accusations that proceed to investigation and conviction.

...


1 Though to be fair, Kalin, the author of the study, goes into some detail about the nature of the recantations, and they’re both pretty specific and pretty plausible -- i.e., “my husband is overseas and I’m afraid I’m pregnant.” They mostly occurred a couple of days after the report, not after extended contact with “the system.”

 

[Todd Andrews]

How did the OP sniff this out as a possible snopes entry but an entire magazine staff didn't?

This guy called it a couple of weeks ago. Gotta take my hat off to this fellow. When I read this story originally, I thought it was incredibly brazen for seven guys to gang-rape an acquaintance, but I assumed the story was true nonetheless. It took somebody who was trained in journalism to tell that this was a hoax. When I read Bradley's piece for the first time earlier this week, all of the sudden it seemed so obvious, but I'll be honest and say that I was completely duped at first.

That guy is spot on.

 

[parasaurolophus]

My ex-wife was brutally beaten and raped by an intruder. It is such a terrible, disgusting crime and I know full well the disastrous effects it can have on a person. I also know a person that was falsely accused of rape and saw how much trouble such a stupid situation caused them and still is whispered about years later.

I wish there was some great solution to exactly how to handle it. It makes me sick to realize that many rapists go free because of victim bullying or certain little "facts" getting picked apart. The flip side of that though is if every accusation was instantly treated as fact, i think it would lead to so many false accusations and ruined lives.

 

[TenTimes]

How did the OP sniff this out as a possible snopes entry but an entire magazine staff didn't?

This guy called it a couple of weeks ago. Gotta take my hat off to this fellow. When I read this story originally, I thought it was incredibly brazen for seven guys to gang-rape an acquaintance, but I assumed the story was true nonetheless. It took somebody who was trained in journalism to tell that this was a hoax. When I read Bradley's piece for the first time earlier this week, all of the sudden it seemed so obvious, but I'll be honest and say that I was completely duped at first.

That guy is spot on.

great article

 

[TenTimes]

Reputations is one thing, some people lose years of their lives in jail, you see stories of men being released after 15 years when new DNA evidence is found to prove they were falsely accused. That's why I agree that false accusations should be severely punished.

 

[Mr. Retukes]

Someone tweeted yesterday: "So as I understand it, Atticus Finch is now the bad guy in "To Kill A Mockingbird," because he doubted a story about rape."

Atticus Finch was a sexist, a racist, and above all a coward. One of the most overrated fictional characters of all time, IMO.

 

[FUBAR]

Someone tweeted yesterday: "So as I understand it, Atticus Finch is now the bad guy in "To Kill A Mockingbird," because he doubted a story about rape."

Atticus Finch was a sexist, a racist, and above all a coward. One of the most overrated fictional characters of all time, IMO.

He was a man of his time and no worse than Thomas Jefferson.

 

[Tom Servo]

Don't know if you guys have followed but this is another story that is being DRAMATICALLY underplayed right now, along the same lines:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/12/03/investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

TLR Lena Dunham accuses a college republican of rape in her books and looks to be complete bunk

Rape is a vile disguting thing and deserves harsh justice, but likewise, false accusations deserve the same punishment. Once you get the stench of that accusation attached to you, its very hard to remove, even when exonerated

I could only tolerate a few episodes of her show and didn't even know she had a book out. If this is true (she fabricated a rape story) then I would hope there is some backlash. It is such a disservice to actual victims for this kind of attention whoring to occur.

That story is absolutely disgusting. She's vague about identifying the guy, but there is a real dude who people assume is the rapist and she's leaving him twisting in the wind. Either confirm it's him and stand by your story or let this guy go back to living his life. ####### ugly pig.

She also writes about fingerblasting her infant sister. She's a sick piece of work.

 

[johnnycakes]

Don't know if you guys have followed but this is another story that is being DRAMATICALLY underplayed right now, along the same lines:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/12/03/investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

TLR Lena Dunham accuses a college republican of rape in her books and looks to be complete bunk

Rape is a vile disguting thing and deserves harsh justice, but likewise, false accusations deserve the same punishment. Once you get the stench of that accusation attached to you, its very hard to remove, even when exonerated

I could only tolerate a few episodes of her show and didn't even know she had a book out. If this is true (she fabricated a rape story) then I would hope there is some backlash. It is such a disservice to actual victims for this kind of attention whoring to occur.

That story is absolutely disgusting. She's vague about identifying the guy, but there is a real dude who people assume is the rapist and she's leaving him twisting in the wind. Either confirm it's him and stand by your story or let this guy go back to living his life. ####### ugly pig.

She also writes about fingerblasting her infant sister. She's a sick piece of work.

Wait, wait, wait..... when I see "fingerblasting", I expect to see Evilgrin.