I think the biggest mistake of the Rolling Stone story is that Jackie’s story was never truly corroborated. The entire piece is based almost solely around her account of the night, which is hard to fact-check because she is the only facts that the story has.
I think there are a few people that could have really prevented the entire debacle. The first being the lifeguard, but obviously Jackie was unwilling to provide a name until after the story was published. Knowing that he was a lifeguard at a specific pool and a member of a specific fraternity could have been enough, however. Moving past there, the most important sources that could have prevented the entire story are the friends that picked Jackie up after the entire incident. They were the first people to see Jackie, to hear what she initially said. Since then, she has had time to shape a story and portray it the way she wants to. If the reporter was to talk to those three individuals, they could have given a more realistic account of what the night was like and what Jackie’s state was at the end of it. If she was covered in blood with broken ribs, I find it very hard to believe that any logical person would have prevented her from going to the hospital, which was also a major red flag.
I understand how the whole debacle happened, however. As convincing and detailed as her testimony was, I would have likely believed it too.