A former Times reporter resigned from her post at USA Today after the newspaper conducted an internal audit and found that she had fabricated sources.

Gabriela Miranda worked as a freelancer and reporter for The Times for about three months at the beginning of 2021 before parting ways with the newspaper. 

“Journalists must be held accountable for such poor choices, and I’m glad to see that USA Today is doing so,” said Shannon Casas, editor in chief for The Times. “She has irreversibly damaged her reputation, which is sad to see for such a young reporter. The Times cares deeply about providing accurate information to our community and we hold all of our staff accountable to those standards.” 

Norman Baggs, general manager at The Times, said the paper reviewed Miranda’s work and has removed one story from online archives out of an abundance of caution due to a source that could not be immediately verified. 

“Gabriela Miranda worked for us for a very short period of time, producing only a small volume of work,” Baggs said. 

USA Today removed 23 of her articles from its website and other platforms. The newspaper began to audit her work after receiving an “external correction request.” 

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