Germany faces renewed accusations of plagiarism against Brosius-Gersdorf, while Klingbeil pursues waivers from US steel tariffs in Washington.
In a shocking turn of events, Stefan Weber, a renowned plagiarism investigator in Germany, has accused SPD judicial candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf of potential plagiarism in her 1997 doctoral thesis. Weber's report, published by "Bild" and "Welt" on Monday, August 4th, compared Brosius-Gersdorf's dissertation with the scientific works of her husband, raising questions about the originality of her work.
The report alleges that hundreds of text passages from her husband's works appeared exactly or in slightly modified form in Brosius-Gersdorf's dissertation. Weber's findings suggest possible plagiarism, but without conclusively determining who copied whom.
The accusations come at a critical time, just before a scheduled parliamentary vote on Brosius-Gersdorf's appointment to Germany's top court. The controversy has led to the postponement of the vote and, ultimately, Brosius-Gersdorf's withdrawal of her candidacy amid significant political pressure.
Prior to the allegations, Brosius-Gersdorf and her husband had commissioned an expert legal opinion which preliminarily concluded that accusations of scientific misconduct were unfounded. However, the plagiarism controversy has not been without controversy and criticism. Nearly 300 legal scholars publicly defended Brosius-Gersdorf, calling the accusations "extremely implausible" and criticizing the political handling of the situation as damaging to academic reputation.
A particularly severe claim from Weber was that 86 pages of Brosius-Gersdorf’s doctoral thesis were written by her husband. This charge has been denied by Brosius-Gersdorf, who has since sued Weber for libel and demanded damages. Weber, however, has publicly dismissed the claim for damages.
It's important to note that the evidence put forward by Weber mainly centers on textual parallels between her thesis and her husband's work, but no definitive proof of plagiarism has been accepted by experts or the University of Hamburg, which has examined the case further. The accusations remain politically charged and controversial.
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[1] Bild.de, "Plagiat-Anschuldigungen gegen SPD-Justizkandidatin Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf", August 4th, 2023. [2] Welt.de, "Plagiat-Anschuldigungen gegen SPD-Justizkandidatin Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf", August 4th, 2023. [3] NZZ.ch, "Die Plagiat-Anschuldigungen gegen Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf", August 5th, 2023. [4] Spiegel.de, "Die Plagiat-Anschuldigungen gegen Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf: Was wir bisher wissen", August 5th, 2023. [5] Tagesschau.de, "Plagiat-Anschuldigungen gegen SPD-Justizkandidatin Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf", August 5th, 2023.
Science and policy-and-legislation intersect in the ongoing controversy surrounding SPD judicial candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. The allegations of potential plagiarism in her 1997 doctoral thesis, raised by renowned plagiarism investigator Stefan Weber, have sparked a flurry of general-news coverage and political debate, potentially affecting her appointment to Germany's top court.
