A viral image shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, purports to show a pair of Nobel Prize winners wearing face masks while accepting their awards at the 2023 awards ceremony.

This picture is worth a thousand words:

The Nobel Prize laureates do not trust their own ‘innovation’ and instead rely on pseudoscience—face diapers. https://t.co/pudNl9wIq9 pic.twitter.com/klgoBiklOo

— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) October 2, 2023

Verdict: False

The image, which was originally published by Reuters Pictures, shows Drs. Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman at the Japan Prize presentation ceremony in Tokyo in 2022. This year’s Nobel Prize awards ceremony is set for Dec. 10, according to the Nobel Prize website.

Fact Check:

Kariko and Weissman will share the 2023 Nobel Prize they were awarded for their research on mRNA, according to BBC News. Kariko said she thought the news she and Weissman won the award was “just a joke,” the outlet reported.

“This picture is worth a thousand words: The Nobel Prize laureates do not trust their own ‘innovation’ and instead rely on pseudoscience—face diapers,” the viral X image’s caption purports. The image, viewed over three million times, purports to show Kariko and Weissman accepting their Nobel Prize awards at the 2023 awards ceremony while wearing face masks.

The photo is not from this year’s Nobel Prize awards ceremony, however. The image, which was originally published by Reuters Pictures, shows Kariko and Weissman at the Japan Prize presentation ceremony in Tokyo in 2022. (RELATED: Did Megyn Kelly Say She Contracted VAIDS After Getting Vaccinated?)

“Japan Prize 2022 laureates Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman pose with their trophies during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony in Tokyo, Japan April 13, 2022,” the image’s caption reads.

Likewise, this year’s Nobel Prize awards ceremony has not yet taken place and is set for Dec. 10, according to the Nobel Prize website. The awards ceremony has taken place on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, since 1901, also according to the website.

Although the viral X image is from 2022, Kariko and Weissman were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine for their research on mRNA, The Washington Post reported. Kariko and Weissman met at the University of Pennsylvania 25 years ago, the outlet indicated.

Check Your Fact has contacted Kariko and Weissman for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.