USA Today reports that it has deleted 23 articles “for not meeting our editorial standards”. The articles were by Gabriela Miranda, who is no longer working there.

The audit revealed that some individuals quoted were not affiliated with the organizations claimed and appeared to be fabricated. The existence of other individuals quoted could not be independently verified. In addition, some stories included quotes that should have been credited to others.

Good for USA Today for removing the articles and getting the reporter to resign. Not so good for letting so much fake news go uncaught at first. Some of the article titles:

• Capybara population ‘wreaking havoc’ in wealthy community in Argentina
• McDonald’s employee leaps out of drive-thru window to save woman choking on a chicken nugget
• ‘Five hours of silence was torture’: Facebook and WhatsApp are lifelines for some families