AP yanks fact-check on raunchy but false claims that JD Vance had an amorous encounter with a sofa

The Associated Press retracted a fact-checking article about droll internet rumors that Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, former President Donald Trump's running mate, had sex with a couch during his college days. To rebut the false claims, AP had conducted a comprehensive search of Vance's memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," for any mentions of couch coitus — it found none — but by Thursday morning the story had been pulled.

In a statement to Salon, an AP spokesperson confirmed that the article had been retracted.

"The story, which did not go out on the wire to our customers, didn't go through our standard editing process," the spokesperson said. "We are looking into how that happened."