USA Today removed 23 articles from its website on Thursday after an internal audit found a reporter quoted people who either did not exist, were not part of the organizations the reporter tied them to, and faked evidence of interviews and recordings entirely, The New York Times first reported. USA Todaysaid in a statement it received a correction request for a story written by Gabriela Miranda, a breaking news reporter. The request led to an internal investigation, in which the newspaper could not verify all the people quoted in some stories actually existed and found that some quotes should have been attributed to other people. Miranda, who did not respond to a request for comment by The Daily Beast, has since resigned from USA Today. “We strive to be accurate and factual in all our content and regret this situation,” the outlet said in a statement. “We will continue to reinforce and strengthen our reporting and editing diligence and processes.”
