Author Retracts Study on Gay People Changing Voters’ Minds on Same-Sex Marriage

The author of a landmark study that found gay people can change the opinions of others on same-sex marriage has retracted the study.

Columbia University political science professor Donald Green, the study’s lead author, said Tuesday that graduate student co-author Michael LaCour had faked at least some data used in the report, according to reports citing watchdog group Retraction Watch. The study, published in the highly-respected journal Science, received significant national attention.

“I am deeply embarrassed by this turn of events and apologize to the editors, reviewers, and readers of Science,” Green wrote in a retraction letter.

For his part, LaCour, a graduate student at University of California, Los Angeles wrote on Twitter that he will address the concerns raised at his “earliest opportunity.”

Irregularities in the data were first discovered by graduate students at University of California, Berkeley who wanted to build on the research.