Report: University investigates suspected plagiarism against AfD leader Weidel

Title: University Examines Alleged Plagiarism in AfD Leader's Thesis

In a report, two plagiarism investigators accused Alice Weidel, the leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, of using external sources in her 2011 doctoral thesis without sufficiently labeling them. The investigators submitted their expert opinion to the University of Bayreuth, where Weidel completed her studies.

"We do not see large-scale plagiarism in Ms. Weidel's dissertation," the lead author of the report told the SZ, "but many small fragments of plagiarism." The authors requested anonymity due to potential dangers. The University of Bayreuth kept silent on the case, citing personal and data protection reasons.

The SZ, which had access to the investigators' report, listed 32 plagiarized fragments and 18 incorrectly marked quotations in Weidel's thesis. The allegations covered individual text passages, a few coherent sentences, or sentence fragments that Weidel reportedly copied without correctly citing the sources.

Weidel dismissed the allegations as "absurd accusations" on the online service X, stating that her thesis had already been checked for plagiarism multiple times. She also claimed political motivation behind the accusations, as no traditional plagiarism was found but only citation errors.

In response, Weidel requested an independent review of her work from a scientist, who later found the accusations unfounded. The subject of her thesis was the pension system in China, for which she received the top grade summa cum laude.

Additional Context:

1. The University of Bayreuth investigation into alleged plagiarism in Alice Weidel's doctoral thesis is currently ongoing.
2. Two plagiarism investigators accused Weidel of using unlabeled external sources in her thesis, leading to allegations of plagiarism and incorrectly marked quotations.
3. The SZ obtained a copy of the experts' report, which detailed 36 pages of alleged plagiarism and citation errors.
4. Weidel disputed the allegations, assuming political motivation behind the accusations.
5. An independent reviewer later dismissed the accusations as unfounded.
6. The University of Bayreuth has refused to comment on the investigation, citing data protection reasons.

Revised Sentences:

1. According to a report, two plagiarism investigators accused Alice Weidel of using external sources in her 2011 doctoral thesis without properly citing them.
2. "We do not see large-scale plagiarism in Ms. Weidel's dissertation," the report's lead author told the SZ, "but many small fragments of plagiarism."
3. The investigators' report, obtained by the SZ, lists 32 plagiarized fragments and 18 incorrectly marked quotations in Weidel's thesis.
4. Weidel denounced the allegations as "absurd accusations," asserting her thesis had been thoroughly checked for plagiarism multiple times.
5. An independent reviewer later concluded the accusations were unfounded, dismissing them as political motivated exaggerations of citation errors.
6. The controversy has been met with silence from the University of Bayreuth, which has refused to comment on the investigation, citing data protection reasons.
7. The SZ's involvement in the controversy stems from their access to the investigators' report.
8. Weidel's thesis covered the pension system in China, for which she received the top grade summa cum laude.