There is a difference between promoting a cause, and having a prior belief. Yes, they mention that in the report. She definitely went into the story believing t

There is a difference between promoting a cause, and having a prior belief. Yes, they mention that in the report. She definitely went into the story believing that rape is a serious problem on campus, and that universities do a poor job at preventing it and handling it, and she wanted to report on that. Her prior belief certainly made her more likely to be misled by Jackie. However, that isn't the same as saying that Erdely's main motivation was the social cause of preventing rape, when the simpler explanation is that the story would garner massive pageviews. Of course, it is very possible both were a factor. My point is that there is no need to jump to conclusions about her motivations. Her actions are bad enough - the report shows her in a horrible light - objectively speaking, regardless of what we can speculate about her inner thoughts.