USA Today said Thursday that it had removed 23 articles from its website after a reporter’s work investigation revealed sources that appeared to be forged.
A week-long internal investigation began after USA Today was inquired about the authenticity of the article’s details by USA Today’s latest news reporter, Gabriella Miranda.
Miranda recently resigned from USA Today as the investigation progressed, according to someone who outlined the investigation. Her latest newspaper article was published on April 17th.
“After receiving an external amendment request, USA Today audited Gabriella Miranda’s reporting work,” the memo said. “The audit revealed that some of the quoted individuals did not belong to the alleged organization and appeared to have been forged. Independent of the existence of the other quoted individuals. In addition, some articles contained citations that should have been credited to others. “
This memo added that publications will review and enhance the process to prevent similar incidents in the future.
USA Today held a video conference with employees on Thursday to discuss the investigation. At a meeting led by USA Today Editor-in-Chief Nicole Carroll, Miranda explained some of the issues found in Ms. Miranda’s article and had a question-and-answer session.
During the investigation, USA Today concluded that Miranda had taken steps to deceive the investigator by creating false evidence of her interview, including a record of the interview. One of the people involved in the investigation disputed her conclusions at a meeting with staff on Thursday, saying that those examining her work could not identify some of the recordings.
She previously covered the Gainesville Times education and Hispanic community. Her website..She graduated University of Georgia in 2021..
USA Today launched another story-making scandal in 2004. At that time, the newspaper accused Pulitzer Prize finalist and correspondent Jack Kelly of creating a story and plagiarizing works from other stores. Mr Kelly resigned and later apologized.
Isabella Simonetti Report that contributed.
