French professor facing probe for creating fake Nobel-style prize - only to award it to himself

NewsWorldEuropeFrench professor facing probe for creating fake Nobel-style prize - only to award it to himselfThe fictional distinction was reportedly also awarded to renowned linguist Noam Chomsky in an elaborate - but false - ceremonyMaira Butt Thursday 07 May 2026 16:12 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2972353","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nobel-fraud-linguist-france-noam-chomsky-b2972353.html","title":"French professor facing probe for awarding himself fake Nobel-style prize"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-68179","index":0}(Ted/YouTube)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"NSC","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Europe"}}A French professor is being investigated after he allegedly invented a Nobel Prize-...