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Jezebel incorrectly reported parts of the budget from Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin on Friday, accusing the presumed candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 of suppressing the reporting of college rape statistics at the University of Wisconsin. A Daily Beast college columnist at the university based an article off Jezebel's post. On Saturday, Jezebel updated their post with the following after USA Today published a story debunking the feminist website's account and clarifying Walker's position: "UPDATE: After Jezebel ran this item yesterday, a spokesman for the University of Wisconsin came forward—over two weeks after the budget was released—to clarify: the University requested that Gov. Walker delete the requirements because efforts were redundant with their compliance of the Cleary Act. Scott Walker's camp assures that he's committed to protecting victims.”
When The Daily Beast contacted Republican Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel for comment on Friday, his office expressed reservations about Walker’s proposal. His office told The Daily Beast in a statement that the Attorney General “is concerned about some of the provisions in the budget that may reduce information provided to college students and take away reporting requirements. He will work with representatives from UW and the Governor’s office to determine what prompted these changes and to ensure that we provide all of the protection we reasonably can for our college students.” It is unclear if Schimel’s office was aware of the stated purpose of the provision in question. The Daily Beast is committed to covering the news fairly and accurately, and we should have checked this story more thoroughly. We deeply regret the error and apologize to Gov. Walker and our readers. Our original story should be considered retracted.