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The journalism community is reeling this week after the release of a Columbia Journalism Reviewreporton Rolling Stones now-infamous UVA rape story. And, whatever else might be said on the matter, you cannot escape the fact that this is one case where hand-wringing and soul-searching actually is called for. This story has cast a black shadow over journalism and set back hard-won progress in recent years in bringing the crime of campus rape out of the shadows.

Oddly enough, conservatives are celebrating with high fives and wild excitement. Their happiness at the retraction of this story doesnt appear to be based upon the singular idea that an injustice was done to particular individuals, or that a fine public universitys reputation (ahem) was wrongly besmirched. (Although they do pay lip service to that.) In reality, conservative jubilation over the Rolling Stone debacle is about something altogether more discomfiting: They evidently have staked out the position that rape doesnt happen very often and that women routinely lie about it. They are saying that the idea of rape being a problem on campus is a false liberal narrative.

This is just one of a handful of recent controversies that are being bundled into a new meme about liberal lies and false narratives. Heres the thoughtful conservative punditAnn Coulterwith a short list:

Many months, several million wasted taxpayer dollars and one cops career later, even Eric Holders Justice Department finally admitted that the whole Hands Up, Dont Shoot story was bunk.

After the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan four years ago, Bill Nye the (self-proclaimed) Science Guy gravely informed CNN viewers, This is all bad and very scary. You know, its nothing but danger. Its nothing but very serious, very, very long-term problems. Wired magazine recently reported that, in the four years since the disaster, more than 96 percent of food, fish and agriculture throughout Fukushima has contained less than one-sixth of the radiation permitted in food imported to Europe.

Lena Dunham, star of HBOs Girls, was forced to retract her autobiographical account of having been raped by a campus conservative named Barry.

The alleged rapist of Columbia Universitys mattress girl finally released her alluring texts to him, and now we all know she was a desperate, spurned lover, not a rape victim.

Sabrina Rubin Erdelys much-celebrated Rolling Stone story about a fraternity gang-rape at the University of Virginia turned out to be based on one poor, sad girl seeking attention by creating a fake online boyfriend and fantasizing her own gang-rape.

This is Ann Coulter, though. Surely more reasonable conservatives arent taking this view. After all, just because a single story turns out not to be true, common sense says that it doesnt mean that all such stories arent true. Its one thing for right-wing bomb throwers to feed these absurdities to their audience but surely serious journalists have to be aware that one bad example does not refute an entire thesis.

Think again.Heres Brit Hume of Fox News, spitting fireon Monday:

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