Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair, founders of fact-checking website AltNews are among the favourites to win the Nobel Peace Prize of 2022. According to a Reuters survey, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, British nature broadcaster David Attenborough and Myanmar’s National Unity government are also in the list of favourites. Nominations for the Peace Prize are made by Norwegian lawmakers, Peace Research Institute Oslo, Nobel Peace Prize Watch etc. While some make their list of nominations public, others don’t. The Reuters list of favorites was prepared on the basis of answers given by lawmakers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe are also on the Reuter's shortlist.
Zubair was arrested in June 2022 on the basis of a tweet and his arrest had led to a lot of outrage. Media associations, activists and others across the country had condemned the arrest. In 2021, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) had mentioned Zubair and Pratik in their list of nominees. It is unclear who nominated the duo this year. This time, PRIO has nominated activist Harsh Mander for the prize.
“Religious extremism helps justify discrimination and violence, and stokes tensions between groups that can result in armed conflict. Making a significant contribution to fighting religious extremism and promoting interreligious dialogue is therefore a compelling rationale for being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. A worthy recipient of such a prize is Harsh Mander, along with the campaign he launched in 2017, Karwan-e-Mohabbat ("Caravan of Love"),” PRIO said.
The winner will be announced on Friday, October 7 by a five-person Norwegian Nobel Committee. Meanwhile, Zubair and Pratik’s names on the favourite list has become a huge discussion on social media.
So happy and thrilled to see @free_thinker and @zoo_bear being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize!
— Hussain Haidry (@hussainhaidry) October 5, 2022
Many congratulations and duas for both. pic.twitter.com/8yIHMN8xmc
As per Times report, Md. Zubair and Pratik Sinha are among the favourites to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
— Nimo Tai (@Cryptic_Miind) October 5, 2022
Godi Media Journos: pic.twitter.com/VxO6ZcfckB
Zubair and Pratik are on the short list for Nobel Peace Prize for battling the hate machinery against Muslims, encouraged by the ever rising threat of the BJP’s communal attacks, massive hate spewing IT cell, and vigilantes literally lynching and killing Muslims in the street.
— Andre Borges (@borges) October 5, 2022
According to a report by Reuters, Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist, in whose name the award is presented, said in his will that the award can be given to the person, “who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses".
Several people and organisations such as members of the government, heads of states, University Professors of history, social sciences, law and philosophy, as well as former Nobel Peace Prize laureates can recommend names of persons for the award