Accusations of plagiarism were directed at the Norwegian minister on social media Sandra Borch.
Just a day after publication, she announced her resignation at a press conference.
– I took text from other master’s theses, without indicating sources. And I’m very sorry for that, says Borch.
On Friday evening, the Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education, Sandra Borch, announced her resignation, reports Norwegian VG.
Borch confirmed it as Norwegian E24’s review had shown and as a social media account accused her of – cheating on her master’s thesis.
– When I wrote my master’s thesis ten years ago, I made a big mistake. I took text from other essays without indicating the source, says Borch.
Borch herself does not know how much cheating the essay contains, and she says that there may be more plagiarism than those found by E24.
– I am very sorry for that. As Minister for Research and Higher Education, it is important to me to ensure a good regulatory framework. I see that this error is not compatible with being responsible for this regulation, says Borch.
Spread on social media
The master’s thesis, which she wrote in law, was submitted in 2014, but it was during Thursday that the rumors about the cheating began to spread. Then the Norwegian account began “The Oslo Student”, with only a few posts and a hundred or so followers to write a thread on X, formerly Twitter, about Borch’s essay.
Under the headline “Academic integrity under the hood: Scrutiny of Sandra Borch’s academic past,” the account shared images comparing the minister’s essay to previously published essays.
The thread shows several cases of plagiarism where paragraphs have been copied, including with identical spelling mistakes, without any references. A day after the posts were published by OsloStudenten, Norwegian E24 released a similar review – hours later, Borch resigned.
The Prime Minister: Not compatible with being a minister
During the day, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was informed of his minister’s resignation, he says that he respects her decision and that she has chosen to take responsibility for it.
– What has emerged is not compatible with the trust required to be minister for research and higher education. I therefore respect her decision to resign, says Støre in a statement.