Harvard President Claudine Gay is under scrutiny once again as new allegations of plagiarism emerge, adding to the controversy surrounding her earlier accusations. The allegations suggest that Gay plagiarized portions of her 1997 Ph.D. dissertation and three other published works.

The New York Post released a report on Tuesday, revealing two previously unreported instances of alleged plagiarism found by conservative activist Christopher F. Rufo and economic historian Phillip W. Magness. In one instance, Gay used similar phrasing to another scholar without proper citation, even though both scholars referenced the same source. In another instance, Gay's description of her research methods aligned closely with another paper, which she did not cite within that specific context, although she cited it elsewhere in her work.

These new plagiarism allegations add to the challenges Gay is currently facing during her time as Harvard President. Following her controversial testimony in Congress, there have been calls from alumni, donors, and members of Congress for her resignation.

The Harvard Corporation, the University's highest governing body, has expressed its support for Gay while acknowledging that they were made aware of allegations regarding three articles in late October. An independent review of Gay's published work is being conducted at her request, and although no violation of Harvard's research misconduct standards has been found, Gay has proactively requested four corrections to be made in two of her articles to include the appropriate citations and quotation marks that were initially omitted.

The New York Post reached out to Harvard on October 24 for comment regarding multiple instances where Gay's words appeared to closely resemble those of other academics. The report presented four specific instances, some of which were previously reported by the Washington Free Beacon in a Monday article.

Gay has defended the integrity of her scholarship and stated that she has always upheld the highest academic standards throughout her career. One of the instances highlighted by the Post compared passages from Gay's paper, "A Room for One's Own? The Partisan Allocation of Affordable Housing," with excerpts from other academic works. Notably, one sentence regarding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit resembled wording from a paper by Miami University professor Anne R. Williamson. Gay's paper did not cite Williamson's work, but both cited the same book by The New School professor Alex F. Schwartz. Schwartz, however, has stated that he does not consider Gay's use of his work as plagiarism.

Another comparison made by the Post highlighted a section from the same paper by Gay, which resembled language used in a 2006 paper by Stephen D. Ansolabehere and James M. Snyder, Jr. Although Gay cited Ansolabehere and Snyder elsewhere in her study, she did not cite them in the particular passage highlighted by the Post. Ansolabehere has stated that he does not believe Gay plagiarized his work and considers some of the contested language as common expressions and phrasings often used in social science writing.

In a post on X, Rufo alleged that Gay lifted verbatim language from scholars Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam in her 2001 paper "The Effect of Black Congressional Representation on Political Participation." However, Gay did cite Bobo and Gilliam's work earlier in the paragraph, challenging the plagiarism claim. Both Bobo and Gilliam have stated that they do not view Gay's use of their work as plagiarism.

The American Political Science Review, in which Gay's 2001 paper was published, acknowledged the allegations and stated that they are investigating the matter according to their editorial policies.

As the new plagiarism allegations continue to unfold, Harvard President Claudine Gay finds her position at the university increasingly uncertain. The outcome of the ongoing independent review will shed light on the legitimacy of the accusations and determine the potential consequences for Gay's academic career.