RICHARD BRADLEY: In the End, It’s All About Rape Culture—or the Lack Thereof.

The only part of Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s article closely examined by Columbia was the lede, which detailed Jackie’s incredible story of gang rape.

Columbia should, in fact, have closely examined the entirety of Erdely’s article. . . .

Jackie’s lies do not in and of themselves disprove Rubin Erdely’s rape-culture thesis.

But if you examined the rest of the article with the same critical eye that you examine Jackie’s story, you’ll find that it, too, is deeply deceptive. “A Rape on Campus” is fashioned on selective presentation of material, the use of bogus or discredited statistics, quotes that are either fabricated or taken out of context, unconfirmed allegations, anonymous sources, the deliberate exclusion of evidence contrary to the author’s thesis, and material that is either fabricated or presented in a way that is so profoundly misleading it can only be evidence of incompetence or dishonesty. (The multiple verses of a UVa fight song, for example, that nobody at UVa has actually heard.)

Commenter “bob somerby” remarks upon the credulity of those putting together the report:

They are treating Erdely the same way Erdely treated Jackie. They are simply accepting her story on faith, after which they type it up in compelling, cinematic form.

My diagnosis? These people are a great deal like Erdely. This is what insider “journalists” are like in a post-journalistic age.

Earlier: Is the Rolling Stone Story True?

Also: More Insight Into Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s Flawed Reporting.