Ahead of the announcement of the year’s prestigious Nobel Prize on Friday, Indian Journalists and Alt News co-founders Pratik Sinha and Mohammad Zubair have been nominated by the Norwegian lawmakers for the year’s prestigious recognition.
The list of the favorites to win the year’s award was made public by Norwegian Lawmakers, predictions from the bookmakers, and shortlisting from the Peace Research Institute Oslo.
The article featured in Time magazine details the probable winners of the year’s Noble Prize and presented Sinha and Zubair’s fight against the fake news by the propaganda machinery in the multi-party democratic settlement.
The article read, “Journalists Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair, co-founders of Indian fact-checking website AltNews, have relentlessly been battling misinformation in India, where the Hindu nationalist BJP party has been accused of frequently stoking discrimination against Muslims. Sinha and Zubair have methodologically debunked rumors and fake news circulating on social media and called out hate speech."
It is pertinent to mention here that Zubair was arrested earlier this year in June by the police for a meme he shared through a tweet, years ago, however, many have criticized the establishment and police over Zubair’s arrest as a political vendetta for his persistent criticism and calling out against BJP’s Nupur Sharma for her derogatory remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
His arrest also drew sharp criticism against the government’s move from the Committee to Protect Journalists, a global autonomous body that works to safeguard rights and ensure the safety of journalists worldwide.
An excerpt from CPJ’s release calling out for Zubair’s release read, “Another low for press freedom in India, where the government has created a hostile and unsafe environment for members of the press reporting on sectarian issues.”
Among others who have been nominated for the Nobel peace prize is Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, British nature broadcaster David Attenborough, the World Health Organization, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, Pope Francis, Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe, and Myanmar’s National Unity government.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is set to announce the year’s Peace Prize in the Norwegian capital of Oslo later this week. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to people “who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
The winner among the nominees for the coveted recognition is selected by the five-person Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is constituted by the Norwegian Parliament.