Fact Check: Machado Cannot Share Nobel Peace Prize with Trump

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences clarified Tuesday that once a Nobel Prize is announced, the decision is irreversible, addressing growing questions about the institution’s award policies.

“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, the decision is final. After this point, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred,” the Academy stated in an unusually direct public announcement that appears aimed at settling ongoing debates about past laureates and award decisions.

The statement comes amid renewed scrutiny of several controversial past recipients, though Academy officials declined to specify which cases prompted the clarification. In recent years, calls to rescind prizes awarded to scientists whose work was later questioned or to political figures whose subsequent actions contradicted the prize’s humanitarian values have grown increasingly vocal.

Dr. Helena Lindholm, a Nobel governance expert at Uppsala University, explained that the policy reflects the original intent of Alfred Nobel’s will. “The foundation documents make no provision for withdrawal of prizes. The decision to award is meant to recognize achievement at a specific moment in time, not to serve as an ongoing endorsement of the recipient’s character or future work,” she said.

The Nobel Foundation, which oversees the prestigious awards worth approximately 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.05 million) each, has historically maintained a position of non-interference with laureate selection. Each prize committee – whether for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, or economic sciences – operates independently in making their selections.

This stance has created tension when laureates later become embroiled in controversies. Notable examples include James Watson, who shared the 1962 medicine prize for discovering DNA’s structure but later made widely condemned racist statements, and Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 1991 Peace Prize stands in stark contrast to her later handling of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.

Several prestigious academic institutions have mechanisms for revoking honors, making the Nobel Foundation’s absolute position increasingly unusual in the scientific and humanitarian community. Harvard University, for example, has withdrawn honorary degrees in cases of serious misconduct, and scientific journals regularly retract papers when evidence of fraud emerges.

“The Nobel Prize occupies a unique position in global recognition,” noted Dr. Martin Ingvar of the Karolinska Institute, which selects the medicine prize winners. “Its permanence reflects both a strength and a challenge. It preserves the historical record of achievement but also binds the prize to individuals whose legacies may become complicated.”

The clarification comes during a period of modernization for the 125-year-old institution, which has worked to increase transparency in its selection processes and address historical imbalances in gender and geographical representation among winners. Last year’s prizes featured the highest proportion of women laureates in a single year, though critics note the overall historical imbalance remains substantial.

Some observers suggest the Academy’s statement represents a defensive posture against mounting pressure to implement a revocation mechanism. “This reads as the Academy drawing a line in the sand,” said Dr. Elsa Brander, science historian at Copenhagen University. “But as societal expectations around accountability evolve, even the most prestigious institutions may find themselves reconsidering long-held positions.”

The Nobel Foundation’s endowment, valued at approximately 4.9 billion Swedish kronor ($465 million), has enabled it to maintain considerable independence in governance decisions. This financial autonomy has allowed the institution to resist external pressures regarding its policies.

While the statement reaffirms that prizes cannot be revoked, it does not address whether the committees might institute more rigorous vetting procedures for future nominees – a reform many academics have called for following several controversial selections.

The 2026 Nobel Prizes will be announced in October, with speculation already building around potential laureates in fields ranging from CRISPR gene editing technology to climate change mitigation efforts.