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New video of text chain from night of alleged Cornell gang rape

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Saeidi, M. (2026, September 29). New video of text chain from night of alleged Cornell gang rape. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cornell-university-rape-allegation-chi-phi-snapchat-conversation/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

CBS News · collected 2026-09-29 · by Mahsa Saeidi
Content note This article describes sexual violence.

Quick Summary

CBS News New York has obtained new video from a fraternity's group Snapchat conversation that suggests planning for sexual activity involving an alleged victim on the night of a reported rape at Cornell University. The Tompkins County district attorney is reopening the criminal investigation after concluding that the initial complaint did not match the lawsuit’s allegations, stating the victim's original statement described her actions as voluntary and consensual. Attorneys for both the victim and accused are actively contesting these claims, with one defense attorney arguing his client only briefly entered the room where the incident allegedly occurred without witnessing any signs of distress or non-consent from the victim.
Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Cornell University student, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang-raped by seven fraternity members at the Chi Phi house on October 19, 2024. Despite initial investigations that concluded without criminal charges being brought forward, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has reopened the case and intends to present it to a grand jury with Doe's cooperation, seeking new evidence not previously available.

Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, reported that she is in constant fear due to intense public pressure and harassment. She suffers from insomnia and relies on medication to sleep. The case, which has garnered national attention, includes allegations against Cornell University, the fraternity, and other parties involved, leading the university president to suspend all fraternity parties until the end of the academic year for a thorough review.

The reopening of the investigation follows increased scrutiny over Title IX policies at educational institutions, focusing on handling sexual misconduct cases. Despite public campaigns aimed at unmasking Doe and defending the accused men—who deny any wrongdoing—the case remains highly sensitive with significant implications for university policy and legal procedures regarding sexual assault allegations.

Written for “Cornell Bans Fraternity Parties Over Assault Allegations” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 304 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Cornell Bans Fraternity Parties Over Assault Allegations
Education · 305 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBS News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 8 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 6 of 58 claims Outlet record 66/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 8 of 42 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss an alleged gang rape incident at Cornell University, Article A focuses on new video evidence from the night of the alleged incident, while Article B discusses the reopening of the case due to a civil lawsuit filed later.”
New York Post
Hedges 8 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses new video evidence from the night of the alleged rape, while Article B focuses on a TV host's commentary supporting the DA's decision not to charge the accused based on previous statements and allegations.”
New York Post
Hedges 6 of 51 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on new video details from the night of an alleged rape, while Article B discusses broader commentary and context about the civil lawsuit filed by Jane Doe against the Cornell fraternity members.”
The Independent
Hedges 6 of 49 claims Outlet record 59/100
“Article A describes the filing of a lawsuit alleging gang rape and failure to protect, while Article B reports on new evidence (a group Snapchat conversation) related to the night of the alleged incident but does not detail the lawsuit or its specific claims.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 16 of 90 claims Outlet record 70/100
ABC News (US)
Hedges 4 of 37 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles relate to the alleged gang rape case at Cornell University, Article A discusses the reopening of the criminal investigation, whereas Article B focuses on new evidence in the form of a Snapchat group chat video. These are different aspects of the broader incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss the alleged gang rape incident at Cornell University, Article B focuses on new evidence (video of a Snapchat group chat) from the night of the alleged incident, while Article A discusses the reopening of the criminal probe. These appear to be two related but distinct reports.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
37
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
3%
1 of 37 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
CBS News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
305
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBS News · 4301 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Mahsa Saeidi
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Additionally, on Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced sweeping changes, saying Cornell will on an arrangement to bring in independent experts to investigate sexual assault allegations.
🔮 DA reopens the case Meanwhile, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten is reopening the criminal investigation, saying in part "Jane Doe's sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped."
Also by Mahsa Saeidi
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

CBS News Cornell New York Snapchat Tompkins County

Subjects

CBS News ORG · 7× New York GPE · 7× Saland PERSON · 5× Giuffra PERSON · 3× Cornell ORG · 2× Doe PERSON · 2× Jane Doe's PERSON · 2× Lopes PERSON · 2× Snapchat ORG · 2× Tompkins County GPE · 2×

Narrative

DA reopens the case Meanwhile, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten is reopening the criminal investigation, saying in part "Jane Doe's sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped."
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29
🔮 DA reopens the case Meanwhile, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten is reopening the criminal investigation, saying in part "Jane Doe's sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped."
2026-09-29 · CBS News
New video of text chain from night of alleged Cornell gang rape · assertive framing

Claims (37 extracted, 1 hedged)

CBS News New York has obtained new details in the .This asserted
News → obtain → the
comes as the Tompkins County district attorney said , saying the victim's original statement does not match the lawsuit's allegations. asserted
statement → come → allegations
New video of frat's group Snapchat CBS News New York has exclusively obtained additional video of the fraternity's group Snapchat conversation from the night a former Cornell student inside the Chi Phi fraternity house. asserted
News → obtain → house
At 1:42 a.m. on the date of the alleged rape, a message was sent to the group chat suggesting a woman was available for sex. asserted
woman → allege → sex
"Shop still open?" one fraternity brother wrote later. asserted
brother → shop → ?
Attorney Thomas Giuffra represents the woman, identified as Jane Doe. asserted
Giuffra → represent → Doe
"Not one of these guys was arrested. asserted
one → arrest → guys
That I can tell you for a fact," Giuffra told CBS News New York last week. asserted
Giuffra → tell → News
Scott Kretzschmar's defense attorney speaks out asserted
attorney → speak → ?
Attorney Jeremy Saland represents Scott Kretzschmar, one of the seven named in the lawsuit. asserted
Saland → represent → lawsuit
The complaint broadly accuses all seven of sexual assault and rape and brings a sexual battery claim against each of them. uncertain
complaint → accuse → them
But in its detailed account, the specific act it attributes to Kretzschmar is pouring ketamine onto Jane Doe's body and snorting it. asserted
it → attribute → it
"You're saying he never snorted ketamine?" CBS News New York's Mahsa Saeidi asked Saland. asserted
Saeidi → say → Saland
"Absolutely not ... what you need to do is look at the demonstrable, objective evidence, which is a hair follicle test showing no, he had no ketamine in his system," Saland said. asserted
Saland → need → system
CBS News New York has not independently reviewed that test. asserted
News → review → test
Saland also says his client saw the Snapchat messages, went into the room for only a few minutes, and left. asserted
client → say → minutes
"She was not undressed," Saland said. asserted
Saland → say → ?
"He didn't see her under duress. asserted
He → see → duress
She wasn't having a hard time articulating any things." asserted
She → have → things
DA reopens the case Meanwhile, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten is reopening the criminal investigation, saying in part "Jane Doe's sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped." asserted
she → reopen → will
Van Houten said she "described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual." "She's barely hanging on for what these guys did to her," Giuffra told CBS News New York last week. asserted
Giuffra → say → her
Giuffra said Doe was traumatized and in "self preservation mode." asserted
Doe → say → mode
He also said the original police report is not materially different from the lawsuit. asserted
report → say → lawsuit
He argues investigators failed to fully follow up on evidence, including the frat's group chat. asserted
investigators → argue → chat
A senior prosecutor with experience in sex crimes is preparing the case for the grand jury. asserted
prosecutor → prepare → jury
The DA says Doe can testify and new evidence can be considered. asserted
evidence → say → ?
"We welcome the opportunity" asserted
We → welcome → opportunity
"We welcome the opportunity and are confident, overwhelmingly so, it will resolve in the same way it already did previously, with no charges," Saland said. asserted
Saland → welcome → charges
Cornell University said it supports the decision of the DA. asserted
it → say → DA
It also said its Title IX process included months of investigation and resulted in sanctions. asserted
process → say → sanctions
CBS News New York is also in touch with Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney representing another defendant, Gillio Lopes. asserted
News → represent → defendant
Miltenberg said the following in a statement to CBS News New York: "We represent Mr. Lopes. asserted
We → say → Lopes
He unequivocally denies the allegations against him. asserted
He → deny → him
"Cornell previously investigated these allegations. asserted
Cornell → investigate → allegations
The allegations now being made publicly differ from what was reported and investigated during that process. asserted
what → make → process
Mr. Lopes should be judged on the evidence, not prejudged based on allegations made in a lawsuit or repeated in the media. asserted
Lopes → judge → media
"We will address these issues through the appropriate legal process and will have no further comment at this time." asserted
We → address → time
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