Title: University of Bayreuth Investigates Alice Weidel's Doctoral Thesis for Potential Plagiarism Scandal
In the spotlight of controversy, the University of Bayreuth is delving into an investigation concerning potential plagiarism in AfD leader, Alice Weidel's doctoral thesis. The accusations of plagiarism, originally unveiled by "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (SZ), have prompted the university to escalate the matter to their "Commission for Academic Integrity." Weidel herself referred to the situation as a "campaign" launching a "campaign" against her, emphasizing her dissertation as the target.
Two Anticipated Plagiarism Experts Speak Out
The "SZ" report highlights the involvement of two plagiarism specialists who alleged that Weidel's doctoral thesis from 2011 had relied heavily on unattributed sources. They claimed that she had not sufficiently or at times, failed to cite external information. In their expert opinion, submitted to the University of Bayreuth, they accused Weidel of inadvertently copying several text fragments verbatim and failing to properly distinguish them as quotations.
"Little-scale Plagiarism, but Plagiarized Fragments Abound"
According to the investigators, Weidel's doctoral thesis is a rich tapestry of inconsistencies, containing a significant number of plagiarized fragments. The study, provided to the "SZ," includes a comprehensive list of 32 plagiarized fragments and 18 questionable quotation attributions. The accused passages span individual sentences and coherent thoughts, which allegedly had been copied verbatim or by taking inspiration from other sources without the appropriate citation.
Weidel's Defiance and Counterclaims
Seeking to refute the allegations, Weidel wasted no time in taking to the online community to voice her distrust of the "absurd accusations." She compared the situation to previous examinations of her thesis by various plagiarism detectors, asserting that they had examined her work meticulously without turning up any striking evidence of plagiarism.
"Obvious Political Motivation"
Weidel further claimed that the political opposition had a catalyst in crafting these plagiarism accusations against her. To challenge these claims, she sought the expert opinion of an independent scientist. Said expert concluded that the allegations were baseless, and the premise that Weidel had committed plagiarism was unfounded.
Weidel's doctoral thesis focused on the pension system in China, at which she excelled, receiving the top grade summa cum laude.
Pursue Further:
- Amidst swirling accusations, the University of Bayreuth is probing potential plagiarism in AfD leader Alice Weidel's doctoral thesis composed in 2011.
- The probe was instigated by the claims that Weidel disregarded appropriately citing external sources in her thesis, igniting doubts of plagiarism.
- Two plagiarism experts submitted an expert report to the University of Bayreuth, claiming that Weidel unwittingly copied multiple fragments of text from external sources without proper citation.
- Stirring up controversy around Alice Weidel's doctoral thesis and the University of Bayreuth, investigations and media headlines have captured public attention, with articles appearing in "SZ," Focus, and others.
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