The Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main is currently reviewing the doctoral thesis by Axel Springer boss Mathias Döpfner because of suspected plagiarism.

The university announced this on Friday at the request of the German Press Agency.

Before that, "Buzzfeed" and "Spiegel" had reported.

The university said: "The Goethe University was approached with an allegation of scientific misconduct in connection with the dissertation "Music criticism in Germany after 1945: Content and formal tendencies - a critical analysis" by Dr.

Mathias Döpfner is leaving.” The facts were submitted to a university committee for examination.

A company spokesman for the Axel Springer media group said when asked by dpa: "Mathias Döpfner has been informed about the process.

He has full confidence in the work of the Frankfurt University Commission.”

The university also announced that according to the statutes, the procedures before the commission for dealing with scientific misconduct are absolutely confidential.

No information was given about the duration of the process.