Official Response to Retraction Request by NC State University

Approximately seven hours after publishing a story regarding an NC State professor identified by two sources as the individual captured in a viral video taking Trump signs near a Wake County early voting site, I received an official retraction request from the university asserting that my reporting was "inaccurate and libelous" and that "the individual in the video is not who your article claims it to be".

As a journalist who strives for integrity and transparency in my reporting, I take allegations of impropriety and requests for retraction extremely seriously.

However, upon following up with the sender of the email, as well the school's Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations, it became apparent that the university had conducted no investigation and had no evidence to contradict the reporting besides their own interpretation of the publicly available video, as well as the professor's (private) assertion to them that he did not commit the crime. (As of today, the professor has not responded directly to my opportunity for comment, which was admittedly made relatively shortly before the publication of the article).

The fact that an individual accused of a crime denies having committed it is newsworthy, however non-specific the details of the denial may be, but it is insufficient to warrant a retraction.

I stand by the integrity of my newsgathering practices, as informed by the Code of Ethics published by the Society of Professional Journalists.

In addition, I encourage the university to put its official position regarding this story on the record.

Stephen Horn,
Founding Editor
This Week in the Triangle