Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity to Sue Rolling Stone for Gang Rape Story

A fraternity that was the subject of a discredited Rolling Stone report on an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia plans to sue the magazine even though it later retracted its original story.

The Virginia Alpha Chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi made the announcement on Monday, a day after the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism wrote a report, also published in Rolling Stone, that cited lapses in fact-checking in the original Rolling Stone story with the headline "A Rape on Campus." The original Rolling Stone story was published last November.

"The report by Columbia University's School of Journalism demonstrates the reckless nature in which Rolling Stone researched and failed to verify facts in its article that erroneously accused Phi Kappa Psi of crimes its members did not commit," said Stephen Scipione, fraternity president, in a statement. "This type of reporting serves as a sad example of a serious decline of journalistic standards."

Columbia noted that the magazine'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 published story glossed over the gaps in the magazine's reporting by using pseudonyms and by failing to state where important information had come from," it said.

It said in March, the Charlotteville, Virginia Police Department concluded that "there is no substantive basis to support the account alleged in the Rolling Stone article" after a four-month investigation. However, the report quoted Police Chief Timothy Longo as saying that it "doesn't mean that something terrible didn't happen to Jackie" on the night of Sept. 28, 2012.

"Jackie," in the original report, said she was gang raped at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.

The Phi Kappa Psi said the magazine article ostracized members of the fraternity and led to vandalism of the fraternity house.

"Clearly our fraternity and its members have been defamed, but more importantly we fear this entire episode may prompt some victims to remain in the shadows, fearful to confront their attackers," said Scipione. "If Rolling Stone wants to play a real role in addressing this problem, it's time to get serious."

University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan said the original "Rolling Stone" story "did nothing to combat sexual violence, and it damaged serious efforts to address the issue."

Irresponsible journalism unjustly damaged the reputations of many innocent individuals and the University of Virginia. Rolling Stone falsely accused some University of Virginia students of heinous, criminal acts, and falsely depicted others as indifferent to the suffering of their classmate. The story portrayed University staff members as manipulative and callous toward victims of sexual assault. Such false depictions reinforce the reluctance sexual assault victims already feel about reporting their experience, lest they be doubted or ignored," she said.

Along with the Columbia report, Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana said, "with its publication, we are officially retracting 'A Rape on Campus.'"

"We are also committing ourselves to a series of recommendations about journalistic practices that are spelled out in the report," she added. We would like to apologize to our readers and to all of those who were damaged by our story and the ensuing fallout, including members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and UVA administrators and students."