It was a brutal story of a premeditated gang rape at one of America’s most prestigious universities — and on Friday, the magazine that published it admitted the story might not be true.

One journalist’s coverage of the saga has been drawing particular fire.

Anna Merlan, a writer for the feminist blog Jezebel, initially defended Rolling Stone’s feature story about a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house — “A Rape on Campus” — vocifer

Rolling Stone's high-profile story about sexual assault on campus appears to be falling apart in the wake of serious questions raised about a horrifying alleged gang-rape used as its central example.

It is a depressing certainty that this story will be used for years to come as a defense by those who do not want to believe rape victims' allegations. But that is the wrong lesson to draw. Rather, this story should be a reminder of how difficult it is to accurately report on traumatic events — and the heightened ethical responsibilities that fall on journalists who do so.

Two weeks ago, a stunning account in Rolling Stone magazine about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia sent the nation reeling. The stomach-churning story led to a police and university investigation, student protests, a temporary ban on fraternities and sororities at the school — and, eventually, tremors in the media that dared to ask: Was the account to be believed? Sixteen days later, another bombshell: Rolling Stone backed off the story.