The GenZ protests of September 8–9 turned out to be among the most violent in Nepal’s history—both from the state authorities and the protesting groups. Never before had 19 peaceful protesters been killed in a single day by state forces, nor had all three organs of the state been set ablaze. The two-day uprising left 72 people dead, including three police personnel. The protests also saw former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse Arzu Rana Deuba, who was also the Minister for Foreign affairs at the time, attacked by an angry mob inside their own residence. Widespread arson, vandalism, and looting targeted major political and business institutions across the country. The uprising toppled Nepal’s constitutionally elected leadership and brought in a new government led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, which was formed not under constitutional provisions but under the so-called “doctrine of necessity.” This once-in-a-lifetime protest was also marred by waves of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation both nationally and internationally. Six major examples are as follows:
Social media ban protests
Many international media framed Nepal’s GenZ protests as a backlash against a “social media ban.” However, that was not the case. The two main issues that drove the movement were anger against “Nepo Kids” (children of political elites enjoying privilege at others’ expense) and widespread corruption. TikTok and Discord were the main platforms fueling the movement.
On the first night of the protests, the government lifted its earlier ban on all social media platforms. Even after unbanning 26 platforms that had refused to comply with Nepal’s registration request, protesters continued to use Discord, including for symbolic “voting” to make Karki the world’s first prime minister chosen via social media. Protesters criticized foreign outlets such as The New York Times and BBC for misrepresenting the movement as a reaction to a social media ban. On X (formerly Twitter), users added “Readers Added Context” to several misleading posts to counter this narrative.
Finance minister beaten up
Indian media outlet NDTV picked up unverified social media claims and ran the headline “Nepal Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel Beaten Up By Protesters.” Other outlets, including South Korea’s The Chosun Daily, repeated the story. In reality, Paudel was at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar during the protests and was later relocated safely to Nepal Police Headquarters.
The man who was beaten and mistaken for the minister was actually Lok Bahadur Tandan, a hospital operator and philanthropist. None of the foreign media that ran the story sought verification or cross-checked their claims with credible Nepali outlets.
Ex-PM’s wife burnt alive
Another false report came from The Times of India, which wrote that “Ex-PM Khanal’s wife dies after protesters torched house.” The misinformation was also carried by India’s ANI and the UAE’s Gulf News, and echoed by Indian content creator Dhruv Rathee in his Nepal briefing. In reality, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, was only injured, not killed. To their credit, some Indian outlets, such as Outlook, later corrected the misinformation.
Oli flees to Dubai via Himalaya Airlines
India’s Aaj Tak aired an unverified report claiming that then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was fleeing to Dubai to escape the unrest. The “breaking news” was echoed by Economic Times, Business Today, and Dainik Jagran, which quoted an unnamed “Nepali air hostess.” Himalaya Airlines publicly denied the report, clarifying that no such flight took place. Despite this, none of the Indian media retracted their stories. In fact, no member of Nepal’s ruling elite fled the country; the resigned Prime Minister remains under protection of the Nepali Army.
32 youths held hostage inside Parliament
Nepali-origin US citizen and Microsoft engineer Tanka Dahal, a popular Nepali-language content creator, spread misinformation claiming he had “heard of 32 youths being held hostage inside Nepal’s parliament.” He posted this on Sept 8, the first day of the Gen-Z protests. Though Nepal Police promptly denied the claim and conducted fact-checks, many social media users refused to believe them, further inflaming public anger toward the government and police.
80 kg gold found in mayor’s home
Nepali-American content creator Sujan Dhakal and controversial Nepali YouTuber Bhagya Neupane claimed that protesters had discovered 80 kilograms of gold and two sacks of silver in the home of Jhapa Mayor Rajendra Kumar Pokharel. The allegation turned out to be false, yet millions believed it online. Mayor Pokharel later remarked sarcastically, “How could that much gold be at my house? I urge Bhagya Neupane to return the gold needed for my children’s marriage and take all the remaining.”
The author is Kathmandu-based Nepali journalist writing mainly on tourism, diplomacy and the environment
