Fact Check: Is Nobel Committee considering giving Peace Prize to Pope Leo XIV to offend Trump?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over the conflict with Iran, a claim has been circulating on social media that the Nobel Committee is planning to award the Peace Prize to the pope to offend Trump in response to his attacks against the pontiff. Let us analyze and fact-check the claim.

Claim: Nobel Prize Committee is considering giving Pope Leo XIV the Peace Prize

The viral claim surfaced on an X (formerly Twitter) post, which stated, “BREAKING: The Nobel Prize Committee is reportedly considering giving Pope Leo the Peace Prize to make Trump so mad he has a brain aneurysm because nothing would so quickly make the world a more peaceful place.”

The claim has even spread on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, garnering hundreds of thousands of views. The comments under the post suggest that many believe the claim to be true, while a few others deny it.

Fact Check: The claim originated as a satire

The claim, however, is not true as there are no official statements or announcements from the Nobel Committee about giving the award to the pope. 

A search on Google for the claim yields no credible reports by prominent news media outlets, except for the social media post that is going viral. 

Moreover, the claim originated from a satire account on X called "The Halfway Post," which describes itself in the bio as "half true and satire."

The Nobel Committee finalises the prize through a rigorous process based on the candidate’s contribution to peace. Hence, it is unlikely for the committee to consider giving the prize to the pope just to offend Trump.

A fact check by Grok also confirmed this, stating, “The claim is pure satire. No evidence that the Nobel Committee is considering Pope Leo XIV for the 2026 Peace Prize specifically to trigger Trump."

"It's a joke from a comedy account that 'improves' facts. Nominations are secret; speculation exists, but this angle is fictional.”

Pope Leo XIV has no interest in engaging in debate with Trump

Pope Leo on Saturday, April 18, said he has no intention of engaging in a public debate with Trump over the Iran conflict, stating that such an exchange is “not in my interest at all.”

Speaking to reporters aboard a papal flight from Cameroon to Angola, the pontiff addressed recent criticism from Trump regarding his calls for peace.

The Vatican had earlier reiterated that the pope’s appeals for peace applied broadly to conflicts worldwide, rather than focusing on a single geopolitical situation.

The pontiff has consistently called for dialogue and has criticized the use of religion to justify war.