Submission + - Crowdsourcing forces German minister to resign (economist.com) 1
A key factor in this was GuttenPlag Wiki, a collaborative effort by anonymous contributors who analyzed the thesis page by page for plagiarism, eventually finding over 800 instances.
Mr. zu Guttenberg enjoyed great popularity among voters and press, and resigned only after his efforts to downplay the scope and importance of the plagiarism were met with outraged opposition by academics, peaking in an open letter to Chancellor Merkel signed by over 25,000 students and faculty.
It is likely that the ability to organize and easily check sources via the internet played a key role in this scandal, since without GuttenPlag wiki and its swiftly produced and publically accessible proof, Mr. zu Guttenbergs delaying tactics may well have worked."