USA Today has suppressed 23 articles written by its journalists after alleging they had fabricated sources and other facts in their articles.
The media outlet said it had launched an audit of its journalists’ writings after receiving an external request for corrections, and found that articles written by reporter Gabriela Miranda “contained statements that appear to have been fabricated, including statements made by individuals quoted who were not affiliated with the organisations claimed”.
“We could not independently verify the existence of other individuals quoted. Additionally, some stories contained quotes that should have belonged to others,” the paper said in a note to readers on Thursday.
The media outlet said it had removed the story from its website and other platforms because it “did not meet our editorial standards,” and also reported that Miranda had resigned from USA Today.
News of the newspaper’s plans to remove the article was first reported by The New York Times.
“We strive to ensure all of our content is accurate and factual, and we regret this incident,” the company said in a note to readers, adding that it “will continue to strengthen our reporting and editorial integrity.”
As part of its notice, USA Today listed articles written by Miranda, with hyperlinks that remain active but are missing text.
Topics included TikTok’s ban of the Milk Crate Challenge, Argentina’s capybara population wreaking havoc, breast cancer commentary, how Friendsgiving became so popular, the top 10 most popular Christmas drinks, and anti-vaccine activists promoting urine therapy as an antidote to COVID-19.