Kathmandu: The Gen-Z protest in Nepal that took place on September 8-9, 2025, can be described not only as the country’s worst unrest in years but also as a breeding ground for misinformation.
Alongside the physical destruction, over 70 people killed, historic buildings, including Singha Durbar set ablaze, and widespread vandalism targeting government offices, political leaders’ residences, and media houses, a parallel wave of misinformation spread rapidly across social and mainstream media.
One viral TikTok video, for instance, falsely alleged that protesters had vandalized the Pashupatinath temple, sparking online outrage. Another piece of disinformation claimed that Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, had died after protesters set fire to their home in Kathmandu. The rumor gained such traction that even Indian outlets like The Times of India reported it as fact.
Shamshad Ahmad Khan, a multimedia journalist at Himal Khabar, said that despite restrictions on platforms like Facebook and Instagram during the protests, misinformation still spread through VPNs and DNS changes. “It felt like there was a storm of information on TikTok and Facebook. Posts were shared so fast that they planted fear in people’s minds,” he said.
Similarly, Sahayog Ranjit, Sub-Editor at Bizmandu, observed that misinformation spreads so quickly because people rarely pause to verify what they see. “They share and comment on posts as if they are true, without any fact-checking,” he explained.
While social media became a hub for rumors, many news outlets also picked up unverified posts, further fueling misinformation, like adding ghee to fire. For instance, some online media reported the alleged death of Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister Khanal, citing Nepal’s official news agency, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS). However, a fact-check by NepalFactCheck.org, an IFCN-certified initiative, revealed the claim was false and confirmed that Chitrakar was in the hospital.
Muna Sunuwar, a journalist currently based in Portugal, said she felt anxious while constantly scrolling through social media and news portals to verify what was true. “Being far from Nepal, I was glued to my phone, checking updates every few minutes. The flow of information was so intense that it made me anxious. I kept calling home and refreshing news sites just to know what was really happening,” she said.
“Social media has the word media in it, and because traditional outlets are aggressively promoting content there, ordinary people now struggle to distinguish between credible journalism and random posts,” said Krishna Acharya, Director of the Center for Media Research (CMR) Nepal Journalism Academy and head of NepalFactCheck.org.
He added, “This blurring of boundaries has deeply eroded public trust in mainstream media, and during crises like the Gen-Z protests, that mistrust becomes even more dangerous as false information spreads faster than verified news.”
During a period when misinformation and disinformation flooded both social and news media, fact-checking institutions played a critical role in verification. NepalFactCheck.org, for example, consistently debunked viral content, including false claims spread from India that the Gen-Z protests were a movement demanding a Hindu nation. Similarly, Techpana’s Factcheck team verified other viral posts, such as claims that 32 Gen-Z protesters had disappeared inside the parliament building and their bodies were later found, which proved to be false.
Bhanu Bhakta Acharya, professor at the University of Ottawa, said that while fact-checking institutions and Nepal Police try to counter misinformation, their efforts take time because verification is necessary. “In the meantime, news media are expected to fulfill that role. But now, even mainstream outlets chase social media content to gain views, and in doing so, they too fall victim to false information. For instance, a fake statement attributed to former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, while under Nepali Army protection, went viral and was published by some Nepali media as news,” Professor Acharya said.
It is increasingly evident that traditional news media is being replaced by new media worldwide. In Nepal, too, social media platforms have become a primary source of local, national, and international news, surpassing traditional outlets. According to the Nepal Media Survey 2022, radio is being replaced by Facebook, television by YouTube, and newspapers and magazines by Nepali online portals at both local and national levels.
The survey highlights a sharp rise in reliance on digital platforms over just two years. YouTube’s use for news grew from 4% to 15% for local news, and from 9% to 31% for national and international news. Similarly, Facebook use surged from 21% to 41% for local news and from 24% to 49% for national and international news.
Supporting this trend, Data Reportal mentioned that Nepal had 14.3 million social media user identities as of January 2025, equivalent to 48.1 percent of the total population. However, with this growing reliance comes greater exposure to misinformation.
Journalist Sahayog Ranjit pointed out, disinformation cannot be entirely stopped and continues to multiply daily. “Newsrooms cannot counter every false claim. But the media should remain cautious and address as many as possible in the future. It would be wrong to expect only news organizations to counter the speed of disinformation, the public must also remain aware and responsible,” he said.
Misinformation is not new in Nepal. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, false and misleading content also circulated widely. A report titled “Misleading News in Media: A Study of Newspapers and Online News Portals of Nepal,” conducted by Media Action Nepal in 2021, found that 3.7 percent of news published in national-level daily newspapers and online portals contained misleading information.
The Gen-Z protest underscored how rapidly misinformation can distort reality, fuel chaos, and erode trust in institutions. Combating this growing threat requires more than reactive fact-checking; it demands a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach.
According to Sunuwar, the government, fact-checkers, tech companies, and civil society must work together to ensure transparency and accountability in the information ecosystem. “Digital and media literacy should be embedded in school curricula and youth activism platforms to help the next generation critically assess what they see online. At the same time, newsrooms must strengthen verification-first cultures rather than chase virality,” she said.
Similarly, Professor Bhanu Bhakta Acharya of the University of Ottawa said that social media will always remain a platform where misinformation spreads easily. “Information can be shared or deleted at people’s will. Nowadays, even a simple status update on social media is picked up by media outlets and turned into news,” he said, adding that virality has become “more important than truth,” shaping how many experienced the Gen-Z movement from afar.
He emphasized the need for stronger media literacy campaigns, urging institutions like the Press Council to educate audiences so they can identify rumors themselves. “Mainstream media should also be required to meet basic standards such as proper gatekeeping mechanisms, adequate staff, and a physical office,” he said. Acharya further stressed public accountability, saying, “People must be responsible for what they share online. If the content they spread misleads the public and causes harm to society, they too should face consequences.”
The Gen-Z protest in Nepal was not just a political and social upheaval, it was a stark reminder of how misinformation can inflame tensions, distort truth, and deepen mistrust in institutions. The crisis revealed the urgent need for collective action to strengthen the country’s information ecosystem. Only through shared responsibility from all the stakeholders, including newsrooms, government, fact-checkers, tech companies, and civil society, can Nepal begin to rebuild public trust and safeguard truth in the digital age.
