Rolling Stone was found liable on three claims in a defamation lawsuit filed by former University of Virginia dean Nicole Eramo regarding the controversial November 2014 article "A Rape on Campus." The article's writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, was found liable for actual malice on six claims, and Wenner Media, which publishes Rolling Stone, was found liable on three.
The article, which Rolling Stone later retracted in full, was widely criticized for inaccuracies caused by the magazine relying heavily on a single source, "Jackie," who described being raped and beaten by several men at a fraternity party. Eramo sued on the grounds that Rolling Stone attempted "to weave a narrative that depicted the University of Virginia as an institution that is indifferent to rape on campus, and more concerned with protecting its reputation than with assisting victims of sexual assault," with Eramo allegedly portrayed as the "chief villain" for warning Jackie to keep quiet about the assault and not report it to the police.
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