Education

Twitter Activists Can’t Accept Rolling Stone Rape Retraction

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Blake Neff Reporter
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After several weeks of growing criticism of a story alleging that seven members of a University of Virginia fraternity gang raped a student, Rolling Stone has issued a partial retraction, admitting it “misplaced” trust in the student’s allegations.

Many Twitter users aren’t giving up the ghost, however. Numerous users took to the digital airwaves to say that, even if the original publication no longer believed its source, they still did.

Several suggested that the real reason for the story’s retraction was influence from wealthy or influential alumni of the school or fraternity.

Interesting how @RollingStone and @washingtonpost are backpeddling over #UVA. Powerful alumni can be brutal. Doesn’t make the story false. — Jessica Hannan (@jessicahannan81) December 5, 2014

I smell frat boy lawyers that #RollingStone had to walk back printed assertions without asking them. #UVA — Stacie Rose (@igotviews) December 5, 2014

A few even accused Rolling Stone of joining up with the sinister forces of “rape culture.”

@RollingStone joins the multiple cultural “institutions” that support #rapeculture#IStandWithJackie http://t.co/QPRoPTHYCD — Lyndsay Kirkham (@HisFeministMama) December 5, 2014

Some have tried to move on quickly, suggesting that, true or not, the horrifying accusations against the fraternity were less important than the discussion they provoked.

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