What a complete breakdown.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Rolling Stone magazine article about an alleged rape on the University of Virginia campus was a “story of journalistic failure that was avoidable,” the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism said in a report published Sunday night.

The failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking,” said the report, which was posted on the journalism school’s and magazine’s websites.

Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana posted an apology on the publication’s website and said the magazine was officially retracting the story.

But one must also remember this fact:

Despite its flaws, the article heightened scrutiny of campus sexual assaults amid a campaign by President Barack Obama.

The false story was given legs because it fed into Obama’s faux “war on women” campaign theme.