The Atlantic Faces Defamation Accusations
A freelance writer, Ruth Shalit Barrett, accused The Atlantic of defamation in a lawsuit that centers on the rare retraction of a magazine article.
Ms. Barrett was the author of “The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports,” an investigative article about wealthy Connecticut parents pursuing Ivy League admissions for their children through various athletic endeavors. The Atlantic published the article online in October 2020 and in its November 2020 print issue.
After questions were raised by The Washington Post’s media critic, Erik Wemple, The Atlantic took the highly unusual step of retracting the entire article. In a lengthy editor’s note, the outlet said that “new information” had emerged that cast doubt on the accuracy of the article and the “trustworthiness” of Ms. Barrett. The Atlantic also said Ms. Barrett had encouraged a source to lie to its fact checkers and noted details about Ms. Barrett’s background, including plagiarism accusations against her in the 1990s when she was a reporter at The New Republic.
