Reporter Skewers WaPo for ‘Piecemeal’ Reports Challenging Rolling Stone Rape Story — Why Her Criticism Is Particularly Ironic Now

A reporter who skewered the Washington Post for publishing "piecemeal" reports challenging the Rolling Stone rape article took the limelight Monday when it was revealed she herself published a story of "total fiction."

Last week, New York Magazine reporter Jessica Pressler criticized the Washington Post for publishing reports about the U.Va scandal, contending the newspaper should complete a full investigation to avoid running any factual errors.

The piecemeal reports from WaPo re UVA are weird & creepy. Isn't the whole lesson here that you finish the investigation *before*publishing?

— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 11, 2014

@AlexBerenson A student saying, "It didn't happen that way...We tried to be as supportive as we could be.” is not a fact

— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 11, 2014

@AlexBerenson I just think that they should complete an the investigation, then write a piece, instead of providing bits of counternarrative

— Jessica Pressler (@jpressler) December 11, 2014

However, on Monday it was revealed that a story Pressler authored was entirely made up by the subject she interviewed.

Pressler was the author of a viral Sunday story about a 17-year-old who said he made $72 million in the stock market. The article she wrote documented how high school senior Mohammed Islam supposedly made a fortune "trading stocks on his lunch break."

On Monday, Islam told the New York Observer that he made the entire thing up.

Q. You seem to be quoted saying “eight figures.” That’s not true, is it? 

A. No, it is not true.

Q. Is there ANY figure? Have you invested and made returns at all?

A. No.

Q. So it’s total fiction?

A. Yes.

Pressler later defended her story, arguing that she said in the piece that the entire thing was a "rumor." An editor's note now also appears at the bottom of the article making this point.

Editor’s note: Mohammed Islam has denied that he made $72 million on the stock market. Our story portrays the $72 million figure as a rumor; the initial headline has been changed to more clearly reflect the fact that we did not know the exact figure he has made in trades. However, Mohammed provided bank statements that showed he is worth eight figures, and he confirmed on the record that he’s worth eight figures.

Nonetheless, some still found it ironic that Pressler authored the story, given her criticism of the Washington Post days earlier.

@jpressler this from the "journalist" who put a completely false story out in the news today.

— Diane (@Dianepmny) December 16, 2014

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