Plagiarism allegations

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck defends himself

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Green Party rejects accusations of plagiarism regarding his doctoral thesis. He says on social media that there is no truth to the accusations of inaccuracies in the footnotes.

Two weeks before the general election in Germany, things are hotting up. A video by Green Party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck caused a stir on Monday. In the video, he says that he expects accusations against his doctoral thesis to be published later today.

"I have decided to make the whole thing transparent," says the politician. "Because I know the allegations - and was able to have them checked in advance."

You can watch the video of Robert Habeckhere: 

Specifically, it is about Habeck's doctoral thesis entitled "The Nature of Literature", published in 2001. The media scientist and "plagiarism hunter" Stefan Weber claims to have discovered inaccuracies in the footnotes. 

According to the University of Hamburg, no misconduct
However, Habeck reports that the allegations have been refuted. The University of Hamburg announced that there was no scientific misconduct. 

Stefan Weber described the doctoral thesis as a "scientific simulation" in his blog last August and went on to write: "There will be unpleasant things to report on the inner workings of the dissertation in the coming months."

Accusations also against Habeck's wife
Stefan Weber will also make accusations against his wife's doctoral thesis, says chancellor candidate Habeck. However, she is not running for any political office. "She is not part of the election campaign. So I ask you to keep my family out of it," Habeck says in the video.