USA Today deletes articles by reporter accused of making up quotes

The paper says an ‘audit revealed that some individuals quoted were not affiliated with the organizations claimed and appeared to be fabricated’

USA Today announced that they have removed 23 articles from its site after an investigation discovered they used sources that appeared to have been fabricated.

The newspaper’s internal audit took place over several weeks and started after the outlet received a comment about the accuracy of certain elements in an article written by breaking news reporter Gabriela Miranda, according to a report in The New York Times.

Ms Miranda recently left the paper, with her most recent article having been published on 17 April.

The Independent has attempted to reach Ms Miranda for comment. Her personal website and LinkedIn profile appear to have been disabled.

USA Today posted a note on its website on Thursday saying that after they received “an external correction request, USA Today audited the reporting work of Gabriela Miranda”.

“The audit revealed that some individuals quoted were not affiliated with the organizations claimed and appeared to be fabricated,” the message said. “The existence of other individuals quoted could not be independently verified. In addition, some stories included quotes that should have been credited to others.”

The note also said that the paper would look over and improve its routines to make sure similar things don’t occur in the future.

USA Today met with staff on Thursday on a video call to talk about the investigation. The meeting was led by editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll and included information about the issues with the reporting in question. It also offered staffers an opportunity to ask questions.

The paper found during its investigation that the reporter attempted to trip up investigators by creating false proof of her reporting, such as recordings of interviews, The Times reported. One of those taking part in the investigation rejected that assessment during the staff meeting on Thursday, instead saying that those reviewing Ms Miranda’s reporting weren’t able to identify some of the people on the recordings.

Some of Ms Miranda’s articles that have been taken down from the website include coverage of the six-week abortion ban in Texas, Ukrainian women’s reaction to the Russian invasion, and a sunscreen guide. She has previously worked on the education beat for The Gainesville Times, according to her now disabled website. She’s a 2021 graduate of the University of Georgia where she worked for the student paper, The Red & Black.

Her bio on the paper’s site states that she “worked as a reporter and campus news editor for The Red & Black from 2019-2021. Before graduating in May 2021, reported on race, protests, health and campus news”.

This isn’t the first time the publication has dealt with dubious sourcing. In 2004, foreign correspondent Jack Kelley, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, resigned from USA Today after being accused of fabricating stories and plagiarizing other publications. He resigned and later issued an apology.