‘Rolling Stone’ Editor Accused of Covering Up Child Porn Accusations

On October 18th, 2022, Rolling Stone published a shocking story about how an ABC News national security reporter and producer had their home raided by the FBI, and disappeared shortly thereafter. “Exclusive: Emmy-winning ABC News producer James Gordon Meek had his home raided by the FBI. His colleagues say they haven’t seen him since,” is how the article was sold.
James Gordon Meek was a former investigator for the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee who went to work for ABC News in 2013. The Rolling Stone article praised Meek for his combative and tough-nosed journalism style, while also implying that his arrest appeared to be a gross overreach by the United States government to persecute a journalist for allegedly possessing classified documents.
“Meek appears to be on the wrong side of the national-security apparatus,” the Rolling Stone story said. The article created shock waves of concern across the media and political world, with the story being reported by scores of others outlets citing Rolling Stone as the source.
However, the Editor-in-Chief of Rolling Stone has now been accused of doctoring the story to overplay the angle of governmental overreach, and to hide the true reason James Gordon Meek’s home was raided, namely that Meek was under federal investigation for being in possession of images depicting child sex abuse. Rolling Stone‘s Editor-in-Chief Noah Shachtman is reported to be a close professional acquaintance of James Gordon Meek.
An NPR Investigation into the article revealed how Rolling Stone reporter Tatiana Siegel found out about the April 2022 raid from neighbors of James Gordon Meek in September of 2022, and began pursuing the story. As part of her investigative work, Siegel found out that the raid was due to a federal investigation over child pornography.
However, Noah Shachtman stepped into act as editor of the story, even though that would normally not be part of Shachtman’s day-to-day duties. Shachtman discouraged Tatiana Siegel from mentioning child pornography in the article, and also discouraged the use of a photo of James Gordon Meek as the cover image, instead wanting to use a stock photo of an FBI raid.
According to NPR’s sources, Noah Shachtman then used the occasion of Tatiana Siegel’s mother dying to make critical edits to the story before publishing it without her knowledge or consent, completely ignoring the child pornography angle, and playing up the angle of government persecution of an investigative journalist. Tatiana Siegel was said to be infuriated when she saw the story published online. Siegel’s mother passed away hours after the Rolling Stone story was published.
Shachtman is also accused of adding to the story afterwards and amending the publishing date to October 24th after the editor’s previous outlet, Daily Beast, published an article pouring cold water on Rolling Stone‘s characterization of events. “After the story ran—and as Tatiana’s family emergency continued—Noah added a quote from a Justice Department spokesperson to the piece without consulting Tatiana,” Rolling Stone‘s parent company Penske Media confirmed in a statement. “He takes responsibility for that.”
But that is all Penske Media and Noah Shachtman are taking responsibility for, claiming that the reason they edited out the child porn accusation was due to not enough information being available at that time—something reporter Tatiana Siegel refuted. After the dispute over the story, Siegel moved to Variety, which is also owned by Penske Media.
On January 31, 2023, James Gordon Meek was formally arrested and charged with transporting child pornography. The FBI Affidavit claims that Meek wrote to someone, “Have you ever raped a toddler girl? It’s amazing.” Meek is also accused of sharing a video showing the rape of an infant girl. The judge in the case denied bail to Meek, and cited that the former ABC employee appeared to be engaging in the “grooming process.” Meek is currently in jail awaiting trial.
Meanwhile, the case of James Gordon Meek is yet another blow against the credibility of Rolling Stone, especially under the leadership of Noah Shachtman.
After taking the reigns of Rolling Stone in July of 2021, Shachtman presided over numerous lapses in journalistic integrity before going on a media charm offensive to explain his new strategy for the legacy media outlet. In a feature in The Washington Post, Shachtman said his approach to journalism will be “more immediate, more visceral.” In an interview with Media Masters, he said his approach will be “faster, louder, harder.” But not only do these philosophies run counter to all recognized tenets of responsible journalism, they have resulted in multiple high profile cases of false reporting like the ones involving James Gordon Meek.
For example, there was the September 3rd, 2021 story from Rolling Stone titled, “Gunshot Victims Left Waiting as Horse Dewormer Overdoses Overwhelm Oklahoma Hospitals, Doctor Says,” with the photo of masked individuals waiting in a line in coats, even though it was supposed to be about an incident that occurred in Oklahoma in the summer. Not only was the story widely debunked and patently false, it was implausible to begin with. But as the Washington Post said in their deconstruction of the incident, the story was just “too good to check.”
On numerous occasions, Rolling Stone was also part of the false media claim that high profile podcaster Joe Rogan took horse dewormer when he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Though there was never any truth to the matter (Rogan received an off-label prescription for the human version of Ivermectin that has been prescribed billions of times worldwide), it was a juicy, clickbait headline, and “too good to check.”
Shachtman Rolling Stone strategy hit close to home in country music when the outlet falsely claimed that Morgan Wallen failed to meet his commitment of donating $500,000 to black charities after he was caught using the N-word on camera. Rolling Stone reported Wallen had only donated $165,000 of the promised amount, but both Saving Country Music and USA Today were able to independently verify that Morgan Wallen had indeed donated $400,000 to various charities, and later donated the final $100,000 to the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville.
Noah Shachtman prides himself in “taking down” musicians, actors, politicians, and other public figures with scathing articles questioning their character and attempting to whip the public up into frenzies. But in the case of his colleague James Gordon Meek, Shachtman helped run interference for Meek in a way that once again undermines the credibility of a publication that has major implications in the music realm, and an Editor-In-Chief who often prioritizes breathless and sensationalized reporting over dispassionate fact-based truth finding.
March 23, 2023 @ 6:32 pm
No wonder they’ve changed their views on Led Zeppelin. It’s clear they want to help people who are “Sick again”
March 24, 2023 @ 6:04 am
I see what you did there.
Someday girl, you’re gonna be sixteen
March 24, 2023 @ 6:11 am
Well, something like that.
March 26, 2023 @ 4:58 pm
Cry cry cry don’t change its the age of consent
March 24, 2023 @ 10:13 pm
Ashley Biden’s confirmed diary said what?
September 2, 2023 @ 5:28 pm
Weeks is the guy that “debunked” Pizzagate. LOL
March 23, 2023 @ 6:46 pm
Get ‘em, Trig!
March 23, 2023 @ 6:59 pm
It’s obvious how far they have fallen now that they have a contentious relationship with Matt Taibbi. Props Trigger for pointing out some of their most obvious forms of journalistic malpractice. Jimmy Kimmell, Rachel Maddow, Colbert, Young Turds, etc. tread ignoring any cognitive dissonance as some sort of badge of honor. This is Soviet levels of propaganda we are facing. We know that they know they are lying, but they do so anyway.
We need to bring back public executions and torture for these child rapists. It’s hard to contain my pure anger over that.
I realize that the Republicans are to a degree engaging in political theater with attempting to ban drag shows that allow minors to attend. However this is what blows my mind, the Left is unilaterally lying about the Republican position on this by claiming that they want to ban ALL drag shows. I talked with several Democrat friends about this and none of them were aware of the viral videos of men in thongs dancing directly in front of toddlers. How is it that only one side of the political spectrum is even aware of these videos? I would think safeguarding the innocence of literal children is something we can all agree on. I have seen so many memes conflating Don Knotts in a dress on the Andy Griffith show with drag queens in bondage gear dancing sexually in front of 5 year olds. My whole point with all of this is that in the majority of people operate with clear boundaries in regards to other people’s children. Introducing minors to sexually themed scenarios with men who dress provocatively in women’s clothing as a kink is adjacent to literally pedo kinks like ‘cock worship’ which involves engaging in sexual behavior with kids. And I am 100% for “infringing on the rights” of some drag queens to prevent them from performing in places where children are present to prevent whatever % of men truly want to groom them. Bloody hell how is this even a partisan issue.
Thanks again for being honest Trigger
March 24, 2023 @ 8:17 am
YeAh, sUrE, bUt TRUMP blah blah blah yada yada…
March 24, 2023 @ 9:13 am
@Ryan,
Ok, i’ll play.
What’s on your mind with this statement?
March 24, 2023 @ 10:17 am
No.
March 29, 2023 @ 7:36 am
…huh?
Leaving aside all the nonsense here…Meek was a cause-celebre for Tucker Carlson and Glenn Beck, claiming the Biden admin was targeting journalists, haha.
March 23, 2023 @ 10:54 pm
A guy who was investigator for the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and who then went to work for ABC News is unaware that “sharing a video” of the sexual assault of a baby will get you arrested and sent to prison? Incredible!
I’m going to leave open the possibility that somebody framed James Gordon Meek because I don’t believe in declaring people guilty of nefarious acts without seeing the proof or hearing their side of the story, but if this is true, the combination of deparvity and stupdity evinced here is just mind-blowing.
March 24, 2023 @ 8:13 am
Certainly someone being framed here is a possibility, just like it’s a possibility in many crimes. But that in no way absolves Noah Shachtman from removing key facts from an article written by another reporter, and then using the occasion of the death of the mother of that reporter to wrangle control over that article away from her, and present information the way he wanted to in order to protect a close colleague, especially when that information includes the guy bragging about raping an infant. This is beyond incalculably unethical. If you believe the guy is being framed, make that part of the story. That was not the case.
Also, in cases where journalists are working on government investigations and maybe the government comes in and tries to impinge upon that effort, the outlet will always rise up to protect the work of that journalist. In this case, that didn’t happen with ABC, while Noah Shachtman’s previous outlet “Daily Beast” actively worked to refute the “Rolling Stone” characterization of the story. There is a good chance people who knew James Gordon Meek knew he was a creep, INCLUDING Noah Shachtman. That, and the accusations against Meek is what makes this situation so heinous.
March 24, 2023 @ 3:02 pm
Trig–Truthfully, I don’t have the passion for or even interest in “Rolling-Stone-Noah Shachtman-journalistic-ethics-Daily-Beast-clickbait” story that you clearly do. I opine plenty here–probably too much, by the lights of most people who frequent the site, but I just don’t have the desire to address that. However, my interest was piqued by the underlying incident and that someone with distinguished credentials like James Gordon Meek would (allegedly) do something so vile and sick and also stupid and self-destructive. My comment was strictly about that in its own right and had nothing to do with “absolving” Shachtman or with Shachtman at all.
March 23, 2023 @ 11:49 pm
Rolling Stone is absolutely worthless.
This story isn’t surprising at all.
They will blame the Duke Lacrosse team.
March 24, 2023 @ 1:41 am
What does this have to do with country music?
March 24, 2023 @ 6:23 am
It doesn’t, but it does feed the comment section nutters. Though the site will say something about “journalism” and a “duty”. I don’t care that the article is here, but I agree it takes some serious yoga stretches to make it country music relevant.
March 24, 2023 @ 7:39 am
Damn that Trigger for trying to protect children!
March 24, 2023 @ 9:26 am
Thank you for providing evidence of my theory.
March 24, 2023 @ 10:11 am
You are protecting a man who is covering up child abuse and porn because he shares your beliefs.
Despicable.
March 24, 2023 @ 10:25 am
Questioning why something is being covered and protecting a pedophile are two different things. I appreciate people’s concerns of why I covered this, but I felt like I had no other choice, and I’m frankly surprised more outlets aren’t covering it.
March 24, 2023 @ 10:28 am
Trigger,
It is pretty obvious why it is being covered here. The person in question runs a media outlet that, unfortunately, covers country music.
It is a topical discussion.
March 24, 2023 @ 10:44 am
I have no idea what his “beliefs” are, nor do I care. I’m sure you’re doing the best you can with what you have.
March 24, 2023 @ 8:28 am
I wrote a detailed story about Rolling Stone Editor-in-Chief Noah Shachtman, and how his unethical and irresponsible journalism style was corrupting American media—including music media—and crossing all manners of lines back on October 26th, 2021.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/rolling-stone-editors-faster-louder-harder-promise-is-a-problem/
This very much played into country music when Rolling Stone falsely reported that Morgan Wallen did not make $500,000 in donations to Black charities like he pledged to do to Michael Strahan on Good Morning America:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/rolling-stone-falsely-reports-morgan-wallens-post-n-word-donations/
Then we get this.
Noah Shachtman is a corrupt, unethical individual who is the top editor and the 2nd largest music publication in the United States that operates a country music subdomain that has also been participating in its own questionable behavior. This couldn’t be more critical to country music.
From the very beginning of Saving Country Music, I have covered how the rest of the media covers country music. It has always been a focus of the website, and that is the reason there is a dedicated category for articles for this type of coverage. If you don’t like to see it here, tough shit. In fact, after having to cover how The Tennessean isn’t investigating the death of Mark Capps, they’re actively working to run cover for Nashville Police, and now this Noah Shachtman story, I have decided to expand that media coverage, including beyond country music, and if necessary, beyond music entirely. American media is in crisis, and if it takes a two-bit blogger who barely graduated high school to hold this industry and its malfeasance to account, so be it.
March 24, 2023 @ 11:35 am
Trig,
I think this is a bit of a stretch to get to the country music angle (understanding that you’ve written about Rolling Stone before). But, this is your blog and your right to expand into other areas. And it’s silly for people to turn this into politics and whataboutisms regarding either side – it’s an article about an editor changing a story without a legitimate basis. Even if Mr. Meek was framed or is found not guilty, that doesn’t change the journalistic issue.
March 24, 2023 @ 2:18 am
Ok then. How bout that new Lukas Nelson song?
March 24, 2023 @ 7:56 am
It’s great!
March 24, 2023 @ 8:47 am
“Noah Shachtman is a corrupt, unethical individual”
Are you going to write a story about the other 32,974,124 people who fit that description?
Oh, oh, if you do can you start with Tucker Carlson? Nothing more corrupt and unethical than knowing X is true but telling your faithful followers that Y is true just so you can keep your ratings up.
March 24, 2023 @ 9:03 am
I cannot write an article about every corrupt individual in media, because as you illustrate, the corruption is so prevalent. But when that corruption veers into my little world covering country music like it has done numerous times now with Noah Shachtman, I most certainly will cover it, no matter the political stripes of the subject.
Tucker Carlson? Sure.
Late last year there was a false story about how “California liberals” were looking to demolish Hank Williams’ house. Kid Rock went on Tucker Carlson’s show to help spread this false rumor. I did an in-depth investigation into the actual history of the house, and called out Tucker Carlson and Kid Rock specifically for their false characterizations. You can read it here:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/separating-fact-from-fiction-hank-williams-and-beechwood-hall/
This Noah Shachtman situation should reach well beyond the culture war and the political divide. The guy actively tried to cover information up about a colleague who bragged about raping an infant. The fact that so many outlets are ignoring this story really speaks to how politics corrupts the minds of individuals. Let’s also appreciate that it was NPR—a very left-leaning publication—that broke this story. Ironically, NPR is laying folks off this week, while Noah Shachtman still has a job. He’s too valuable to Penske Media. He makes them millions upon millions of dollars off of false reporting, like the situation with James Gordon Meek. And if you try to hold Shachtman to account, YOU’RE the one who will be questioned.
March 24, 2023 @ 9:15 am
Are we having a full on political conversation on this thread – name dropping individuals?
If so, buckle up.
March 24, 2023 @ 9:23 am
No, we’re not.
March 24, 2023 @ 9:24 am
Good.
March 24, 2023 @ 6:11 am
Epstein didn’t kill himself…
I don’t trust the gov’t version of anything anymore than I trust Rolling Stone. If either says the sky is blue on a cloudless day, you best step outside to see for yourself.
Everyone knows Rolling Stone lies, if even by omission… they learned from the lyingest entity on the planet, the US gov’t. and major metropolitan area gov’t’s as well… it is what they do best…
March 24, 2023 @ 8:50 am
It is certainly fair to cite how the US Government lies, and specifically how there have been accusations of instances where government actors use child pornography or underage sex to compromise individuals and use that as leverage over them. This is at the heart of the concern over Epstein as you allude to, and I heard that someone just published a novel where this is part of the plot.
But if you’re Noah Shachtman and you think that’s what’s happening here, then that is what you allude to in the article, and you broaden the scope of the coverage to include that as a possibility. That’s not what happened. According to ten separate sources that NPR talked to, Shachtman changed another reporter’s story to protect a colleague.
March 24, 2023 @ 11:14 am
What’s funny is how in hindsight they were right to be so critical of the Bush admin and all it’s wrongdoing. HOWEVER after one term of Obama they willingly chose to carry water for the establishment. I will never understand this. I guess 90% of people are just into whatever current thing is, and that’s as far as they go.
March 24, 2023 @ 8:12 am
Anybody know where I can leave the news behind and read about what’s good and happening in country music? I see enough of the news and bathe in toxicity many other places. I’m outta here.
March 24, 2023 @ 8:30 am
Yes, it’s called Saving Country Music. You made the choice to click on this article as opposed to the one right before it running down all the new releases today:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/super-busy-release-day-on-march-24th-heres-your-guide/
…or the review I just did for the new Matt Hillyer album that was posted right after this article:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/album-review-matt-hillyers-glorieta/
March 24, 2023 @ 12:30 pm
Yeah, kinda like rubber-necking a crash scene. I regret it like I always do. I guess you got me! Not again.
March 24, 2023 @ 8:32 am
“How can you be so obtuse?” —Andy Dufresne
March 24, 2023 @ 10:46 am
Don’t worry everyone, this is a completely isolated incident, and we should write off the coverage as “feeding the nutters.”
March 24, 2023 @ 2:19 pm
Trig is right, to bring this to light.
All too often, pedophilia gets swept under the rug.
Kudos, Trig.
March 25, 2023 @ 9:20 am
Please provide data regarding pedophilia being ‘’swept under the rug’’ that is evidentiary of ‘all too often’’. I am confident that you can provide none. The only way you could know that pedophilia is often not reported is if you could prove that journalists/media knew of pedophilia and decided to not report on it. More ‘my feelings are empirical evidence of something’ instead of actual empirical evidence. It’s bizarre to me that you purport to work in a science-based field. Nuclear medicine, yes?
March 25, 2023 @ 9:53 am
Have no problem responding to your post.
In 1984, spent a semester on research of this particular problem. Complete with FBI statistics, national, and state.
We were a young FBI family, out of the Detroit office. Our son was 2 years old, and this topic was of particular importance to me.
This particular course on sexuality, was offered at EMU, Ypsilanti.
Took it in the evening, so my husband was at home to watch our son.
The night husband was in D.C. took our son to class with me, to an anthropology course.
You are welcome to frame your posts as you wish.
Have a lot of experience dealing with assholes.
And, a lot of these people i end up liking.
March 25, 2023 @ 10:09 am
1984. I don’t think citing 40 year old data unnamed data provides any evidence of current rates of ‘media pedophilia sweeping’. It’s a good thing you followed your pattern and padded your response with lots of irrelevancies about your family, work life and interests to distract the non-critical thinkers.
March 25, 2023 @ 10:16 am
That you are angry and perhaps miserable with what you have not accomplished in life, is your problem.
Trig, was absolutely correct to report on this.
The act and criminality of pedophilia has not changed since man was put on the Earth.
In all it’s evil, the mechanics remain much the same.
My last post on this thread, Trig.
March 25, 2023 @ 10:25 am
No response to citing 40 year old data as evid3nce of a current problem. Well done, ‘scientist’.
March 25, 2023 @ 4:37 pm
Di,
You hit a sore spot for Doug. He doth protest too much. Almost like he has something to hide regarding the topic.
It is definitely covered up by the elites. Also note how, despite the stereotype with priests, pedophilia happens at a much greater rate by public school teachers than priests.
March 25, 2023 @ 6:49 pm
Okay. “It is definitely covered up by the elites.” Based on what? Provide empirical evidence. I don’t want to be accusatory, but it sounds as though you might agree with Qanon Pizzagate absurdity. Wow! Lastly, again you respond with sophomoric insults instead of intelligence, i.e. data and logic. Again, you do the best you can with what you have. I commend your staying in a discussion you can’t compete in. An A for effort. Wait. What do you think of the 40 year old ‘data’ to evidence a current “issue”? Di Harris has no reply. Do you?
July 27, 2023 @ 11:47 am
Found the pedophile
March 25, 2023 @ 6:25 am
I think child sexual abuse has been going on for much of history, probably. When it stopped being okay to do it publicly like back in Roman times it just went underground. Then every so often people notice and try to do something about it but it usually ends up like the Satanic Panic in the 80s or the crazy adrenochrome conspiracy going around now, blaming some nonsense rather than the idea that some amount of people have something wrong with them that makes them attracted to children. People up and down the social ladder and of all races, creeds, cultures and religions. The rich and powerful have always gotten away with their crimes more easily than the common man and sadly this type of crime is no different, there doesn’t need to be some evil cabal advancing a hidden agenda.
I don’t know why those people are that way or how to fix them before they hurt someone. But I think if we’re really concerned about helping children, reducing the number of children hurt by these predators then we’re going to have to try to find out. The death penalty doesn’t seem to make a difference as to murder rates and if the prospect of being imprisoned in a rape dungeon for molesting kids doesn’t scare you off doing it I don’t think any punishment will. I want to see the guilty pay as much as anyone else but it doesn’t stop new crimes from happening, it just makes us feel better about the old ones. Being used as a weapon in our political fights doesn’t seem to be helping us deal with it either.
I’ll probably get called all kinds of shit for this part but I can take it and this is what I really think: the way we talk about this in terms of extreme punishments and slandering each other is counterproductive. Since this is America we can’t dream up some “pedophile test” and force everyone to take it even if such a thing existed and was accurate, which seems doubtful. I think those who have harmed children are scum but we have to change the conversation so we separate people who have those messed up desires and those who act on them. Then, hopefully, some of them can be given some kind of treatment or we can at least start working on something even if it’s extreme like chemical or surgical castration. You can say I’m trying to get sympathy for perverts if you want but I’m looking at it from the pov of numbers of children harmed. If we have to hold our noses and put on gloves to reach out to people we despise it’s worth it if we can stop the suffering of the most innocent among us and stop cycles of abuse before they get started.
March 25, 2023 @ 10:07 am
Just for context here, let’s appreciate two things about this situation. First, though James Gordon Meek has only been charged so far with possession of pornography, they have a record of him bragging about raping an infant, and so there is concern his behavior goes beyond just consuming pornography. Second, James Gordon Meek has been denied bail. Some murder suspects aren’t even denied bail. The reason the judge did this is because the evidence against him is so disturbing and strong, they feel Meek is a threat to others in society. This is not just a case of somebody getting caught with kiddie porn on their computer.
Now, appreciate that this was what the Rolling Stone editor used the occasion of the death of a reporter’s mother to attempt to cover up for his close colleague.
Is pedophilia more prevalent among elite circles as the excesses of society fail to satisfy appetites of those that have everything? I don’t know. But stories like this most certainly don’t help to dispel that concern, or that it is being systemically covered up.