Taylor Lorenz’s Power User - The Truth About Nepal’s Gen Z Uprising

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

Visit JoinDeleteMe.com/Taylor20 and use code Taylor20 for 20% off and protect yourself today! SUPPORT ME ON PATREON.Buy a subscription to my Tech and Online Culture newsletter, User Magazine to support my work!!!! 🙏 Welcome back to Free Speech Friday:Nearly a month ago peaceful student demonstrators protesting corruption in Nepal were shot and killed, sparking nationwide outrage. Government buildings were set in fire, leaders were forced out, and the prime minister resigned, leaving the country’s future uncertain.But that's not how the mainstream media reported it. They misrepresented Nepal's Gen Z youth movement, portraying young protesters as spoiled children upset about losing social media access, rather than as citizens fighting corruption and authoritarian suppression of free speech. It was a lot of the same framing that the media has used over other authoritarian crackdowns on speech like the TikTok ban here in the U.S. I brought on Bala Krishna Sha, one of the top journalists in Nepal, who writes for The Himalayan Times, the country's number 1 English language newspaper. He joins me to break down exactly what happened in Nepal, what the real story is that you won't see in traditional western media, and why the free speech fight happening in Nepal has global implications. If you like this video, please support me on Patreon!! https://www.patreon.com/c/taylorlorenzFollow me:https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0 https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz

Welcome back to Free Speech Friday, my series covering the fight for free expression and civil liberties online. Over the past decade, Nepal, like the rest of the world, has undergone a digital media transformation. Young people are increasingly getting their information through platforms like YouTube, Instagram, X, and TikTok. And they've used these platforms to speak out about their corrupt government and the skyrocketing wealth inequality in the country. Nepal's national unemployment rate stood at 12.6. percent according to data from the government's 22 to 2023 standard of living survey. And young people have become increasingly delusioned by their government. Online, this resentment has metastasized and Gen Z began organizing on platforms like Discord.

The hashtag Nepo Baby trended nationally and became a rallying cry against corruption and the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children. Gen Z citizens in Nepal made their voices heard online and used the internet to draw more and more attention to the rank corruption in their government. But officials cracked down. They banned social media apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and more. And the social media blackout was the straw that broke the camel's back. Young people took to the streets by the thousands demanding accountability and systemic change.

They chanted peacefully, trying to make their voices heard after being silenced online. But before long, the demonstrations turned deadly. On the afternoon of September 8th, a slew of students peacefully protesting were shot to death, some still wearing their school uniforms. Outrage was swift, and by that night, protesters had burned the government buildings down and driven the leaders out of power. The prime minister resigned, and the country's political future is still in flux. But none of this is how the mainstream Western media initially covered things.

Instead of explaining why the Gen Z youth were actually staging mass protests, The young organizers were framed as petulant children rioting because their Instagram was taken away. Condescending mainstream media headlines spread online, allowing people in power in other countries to dismiss the young Nepalese's real message and motives. Ironically, the Twitter account Pop Base was the only one able to cut through the mainstream media narratives and explain what was actually happening on the ground. The coverage of the Nepali protests mirrors the mainstream media coverage, of things like the TikTok ban here in the U.S., where when thousands of Gen Ziers called their members of Congress to protest the TikTok ban,

rightfully calling out the government for attempting to silence speech on things like the genocide in Gaza and cut them off from open access to information, the media and people in power mocked the kids as spoiled brats addicted to their cell phones. All of this is deeply dishonest framing, and it shows how the media will never see

center concerns about speech, even amidst the most authoritarian crackdowns. These kids in Nepal weren't rioting because their social media was taken away, and they wanted to post selfies. They were protesting because their speech, very critical speech, calling out corruption, was being silenced. And that's ultimately what these efforts to ban social media were all about. All of this is deeply dishonest framing, and it shows how the mainstream media will never center concerns about speech, even amidst the most authoritarian crackdowns.

These kids in Nepal weren't rioting because their social media was taken away and they wanted to post selfies. They were protesting because their speech, very critical speech, calling out corruption, was being silenced. And that's ultimately what these efforts to ban social media are all about. The internet is the most powerful political tool of our lifetime. And if wielded right, it can be incredibly liberatory. But free speech is under attack.

And efforts to restrict and ban speech through cracking down on social media are gaining traction across the globe. I think it's so crucial to look at what's happening in Nepal and understand what these brave young people were really fighting for. And what authoritarianism really looks like in action. To do that, I wanted to speak to somebody actually on the ground in Nepal who witnessed the violence. violence firsthand and has been reporting on the escalating political tensions in the country. A journalist friend I have abroad put me in touch with Bala Krishna Shah. He's one of the top journalists in the country and he writes for the Himalayan Times, Nepal's number one English language newspaper. He's joining me today to break down exactly what is happening in Nepal

and what the real story is that you won't see in traditional media. We're also going to talk about why the free speech fight happening in Nepal has global implications. Hi, Bala, thank you so much for joining me today. Can you do me a favor and introduce yourself to our audience? Namaste. My name is Bal Krishna Saha. I go by my nickname Bala, and I'm a working journalist in the Himalayan Times. It's Nepal's largest English daily.

And I'm also secretary at Medax Nepal. And the recent development in Nepal, the recent protest, I witnessed. I did ground reporting of September 8. I went on September 9 briefly and I returned home for my safety because it had turned violent. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you so much for taking time to chat with us. I want to kind of zoom back because I think a lot of people in the U.S. have seen headlines saying that Gen Z is rioting because social media was shut down or because

of social media. Can you start by explaining what is the origins of all of the protests that are happening right now, especially with Gen Z? How did all of this start? As per my ground report and my understanding, my conversation with a lot of protesters and everything and even some of the organizers, they literally told me that it was not cause of social media ban. Social media ban just in certain ways triggered it. But it was launched a few days back only on several platforms, even in Reddy Discord.

This campaign was launched against corruption, not against social media ban. And social media ban somehow fueled it. Youth Cut and Genji got triggered. And they organized this protest on September 8th. And maybe the government had not anticipated that the crowd would turn in this number. They were almost in tens of thousands, around 20,000 or 20,000 people there. You mentioned that this protest was being organized on Discord and Reddit and all these other platforms against corruption. What instigated that?

I know that I saw reports saying that people were upset about the wealth inequality and there was the hashtag rich talk trending on TikTok. Can you explain a little bit about what was going on politically in the country that made the Gen Z so angry about corruption? The corruption in Nepal is very rampant. I mean, I would say it was now because now there is no government and even parliament is going to be dissolved very soon. There is no concrete decision, but these things are on the table. So it was completely, the corruption in Nepal completely ferreated in it. It looked like the political parties in Nepal, they had formed this nexus of corruption. pretty much seemed like nothing was possible without connections with political parties,

the major political parties. Irriginal political parties, they were just, you know, pawn. Whenever they wanted to use them, they used, and that's all. So, Nepali Congress, the largest political party, it was in the parliament, and then CP&UML. Aki P.S.A.M.L., he is the president, CPNUML, and he was the prime minister. So these both first largest political party in Nepali Congress, and second largest political party, CPNUML. They had formed this coalition after British.

of another government almost a year ago. So there was this narrative and it looked like it was completely clear in the eyes of media and people and everyone that these political parties, they had jammed up together to protect each other because several leaders from CP and EML and Nepali Congress, they were accused and they were, you know, charged of corruption. Even a Vittany's refugee scam, there was a huge investigation done by media that has in certain was proved that leaders from Nepali Congress, they were involved into that. And some of them, they were jailed also. There's a series of corruption. Not only one corruption, there are series of

corruption and they were just protecting each other. They were just having each other back. So this led to this frustration in the youth. And then they launched this campaign in TikTok, this code, Reddit and everywhere that the inequality between rich kids and the middle class and poor family. And there was a lot of camping like on our money, they are enjoying lavish life, luxurious life and everything. But the poor people that are struggling for even a single-day meal. So these sort of campments were launched and this is how it started. So you mentioned that there are these videos that were showing the rich kids and showing their lavish lifestyles. What did that sort of show young people? I mean, is this basically like

they were seeing this on social media and just seeing the flaunting of wealth and just seeing this wealth disparity and getting upset at all of the corruption and then turning to the internet to plan these protests? They were flaunting in their several videos all over the media, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, everywhere. The sons and daughters have political leaders and people associated with these political parties and all. They were just flexing their luxurious life, their vacations and everything. And kids, Genji, they took pictures from there. They launched this camp and see how our tax money are being spent,

how they went to the top university in the world, and people are still struggling for even business. education. Whenever they had any kind of health crisis, they went abroad for treatment, but people they still struggle for basic health rights in Nepal. So these were the situation. This is how they raised this issue. The way they were flaunting their lavish life and everything from all the premium and supremely expensive stuff, from cars to bags to whatnot. So that is how the comparison and campaign was launched against that. So these kids turned to Reddit and Discord, as you mentioned, to gather and plan this protest. And it sounds like before the actual protest happened, this social media ban went through. Can you talk about the decision

that the government made to ban all social media? How was that decision made? And what was the reasoning behind that decision? So the reasons that government provided, they had introduced several bills, at least I can name two, social media bill which was in upper house, and there were a lot of problematic provisions that a rights group and everyone they had opposed. They was unrest and protest when that bill was introduced in the house. So that situation was there and they never wanted. There should be law, certain law to register social media or anything as such. But government, after a year, they introduced this administrative order to register this social media. Either you register or will ban. So it was completely egoistic.

decision and it was an undemocratic decision and attack on free speech. There was no justification to ban this social media or anything as such. This in certain ways created youth that they had no place. I mean, everything was banned. They had launched this campaign and they were doing this on social media and everywhere. And all of a sudden government banned this on September 4. So that is how it got very bad. What was it like on September 4th? I mean, could you just not access WhatsApp? Could you not access Instagram? Could you not access Reddit? Like, what was actually banned and were people turning to VPNs? Like, what was the actual experience like during that ban? On September 4, it looked fine in certain. It worked until September 4, evening night, I think even until the morning,

in the very morning of September 5, it was working. But the problem is started from September 5. People were not able to access anything. Even I started using VPN and everything. I had to talk with a lot of my sources and people from, you know, out of the country. So I had to maintain that connections. Email is not, you know, everyone's favorable way. So that was the situation. But I was aware and I'm aware how to use VPN, how to access, but the literacy rate is very poor in Nepal. So they don't have this much idea about what was happening. It was blanket ban on everything. So from, I think, evening of September 5, everything started turning worse. And by 6-7, the campaign and everything had already crossed every day.

thing. And this street protest was also announced. And on September 8, the protest formally took place. And less than in 24 hours, the history of politics in Nepal has changed. Okay, wow. So this ban goes into effect. No one can use social media, any type of social media at all. And so they decide to take to the streets. September 8th is when they take to the streets. I think this is when we in the Western media started to really see a lot of videos come out and things start to happen. So tell me what happened September 8th and what was that first day of riots looked like. Did the government lift the ban? Like, what happened?

I would again try to clarify this. It was not cause of social media ban. It sounded like, you know, it was cause of social media ban. It just triggered. It was trigger point. That was the trigger, yes. Because they couldn't speak, right? They couldn't talk about the corruption anymore and they couldn't express their anger about the corruption.

Yes. I totally understand that. Yeah. Even during protest, when I joined early in the morning with my two other colleagues, a photojournalist and the person who is handling social media. And I was also there. So three of us from the Himalayan times. We were there.

And it was going so good. I kept telling my colleagues and people that, oh, gosh, this is so cool. I had never expected that the youth in Nepal would be disavakened and they will be protesting this. Corruption. 99% I would say they were carrying play cards and posters. banners, everything against corruption. I have several pictures, several videos that can prove that. And even those that have available on internet and social media can find them very easily. So that was the situation. They were just protesting against this corruption. They were singing

popular songs by a Nepali band like Nephtia, some others, gau-gown-bastion. It means basically everyone, there will be good homes, good roads and these kind of things. But they were protesting as corruption. But yeah, there was also some stuff. and everything against social media restrictions and freedom of expressions. So these were the scenes there. Until afternoon, everything was fine. Police were shooting tear gas because they breached that restricted area. So that was there.

Then all of a sudden in just few hours, they started shooting. I saw that there were real bullets. They were shooting. I mean, police had launched this attack. What instigated the shooting of these students? Like how did that come about? And who was instigating it? Was it police?

Was it government officials? Like who was doing the shooting? Police, of course. I mean, the security persons deployed there. They did that shooting. They just launched this relentless attack, attack on youth, rubber bullets initially. There are proofs, several proofs that can save.

I talked with one of persons, a brother who died there. And he said that I saw a hole in my brother's chest. Two holes were there. And those were of real bullet. So these, these scenarios. were there and he died on the spot. So these things were the police, authorities present there, they had launched this attack on this innocent youth.

But yeah, how it was instigated, I think, for sure, there were some vested interest group because Genji, they looked very peaceful. They looked so cool. They were so nice. They were so, you know, they were dancing. I have videos. Even in certain ways, I was enjoying the protest. As a journalist, it was so cool to witness that because even in the history of Nepal,

there had never been that kind of protest. There was a band, a Nepali traditional band, which was playing music and everything, and they were dancing, they were protesting. Then I think some the state group of people somehow got into that protest and they started instigated. And they attacked parliament building, parliament complex. Then CDO office released an order that,

okay, if they attack public property, then you can suit them. I saw the kids walking with their hands up in the videos. It looks like they were walking. completely peacefully before they were shot? It was completely peaceful. There was no, I didn't see even any single reason to launch that sort of attack on them. That was completely brutal and inhuman.

People, they were falling there. Students in college, race, school dress, they were attacked. I have videos of them. Not every each of them, but I have few videos recorded in my phone. I spent almost four hours in protest and I saw that. And when I was leaving, a police came to me and told him that he leave the protest and when I showed my press idea that I'm from

place he literally told me that the bullets do not recognize whether you are from press or you're from you're just protester or anything else so this was the sentiment there even I talked with some elderly people who were protesting in support of Genji they told me like I had never seen police being this rogue they were they looked so aggressive they looked like they were something on illicit stuff and they were just completely going aggressive and then it turned completely violent and took lives of 19 innocent youth there. So they killed 19 innocent kids, young people. And then what happened? Everyone, they were speechless. Everyone were demanding that this government should

immediately collapse and leave and try addressing the situation. But even after that, the then prime minister, Kipid Sarmavali, he was until yesterday. He resigned in the afternoon. He held a cabinet meeting after a few hours. hours of the death and everything in the evening, he held the meeting and he said that the ban on social media will not be, you know, lifted or anything as such because these social media company, they have ignored our calls and everything. And they looked completely egoistic. They ignored these casualties and everything. This is what I would say was their biggest mistake that they should have acted immediately. They should have controlled the situation. They just thought like,

Okay, we have dealt with, they had overthrown monarchy, they had, you know, witnessed several other protests in 1990, in 2006. So they were, okay, very confident that nothing would happen. But the people were already frustrated and they killed 19 people that, you know, left everyone. I was horrified. When I came home, I couldn't sleep. I slept only for, I think, one or two hours.

And I just got up. Even last night I couldn't sleep. Because I have seen those things and it's still haunting me. And I had never seen something like that. And due to that reason, they had imposed this curfew in proletary order. But despite that all, youth from everywhere, not only in Kathmandu, everywhere in Nepal, they just gathered. But it looked much worse, completely worst in Kathmandu. And they started attacking everything.

They started burning down everything. In parliament building, Supreme Court, Singha Darwar, which is a government executive secretariat, has been burned. And this is completely bad. which shouldn't have happened. So basically, the government doubled down on this censorship campaign where they didn't lift the ban on social media, even after these children were killed. And so then the youth went even further and revolted, rightfully so.

I mean, I understand their anger, right? And so when they were burning these government buildings and attacking the buildings in Kathmandu, what happened? Did that last into the night? Like, what was the result of all of that sort of night of protests? So on September 8th, after, After the killings, until evening, it was not lifted. The ban was not lifted.

But by the night, by I think seven, eight in the evening or night, I would say night, because in our culture, we go to bed where we have our dinner early and go to bed very early. That was night for us. Around that time, everyone started feeling like, so we can access social media and everything. So the social media came back online the evening of September 8th, around 7 o'clock. Okay. But in my meetings with my colleagues and some of the activists, CSOs members, it looked like it was a strategic move from the social media company also. I mean, the internet providers company, because they were in law, so they just lifted ban. They revolted also. So that could also be the situation, but it is yet to be investigated. That aspect could be also there. So nobody knows how the internet came back, but somehow the internet came back online and people had access to social media again.

Yeah, because there was no information. As for my source, as for my knowledge, none of the government official, I heard that they were saying maybe later in the night, the Minister of Communication, he said something like that. But as per my knowledge, there was no official communication between these two entities to lift ban. So that was there. That situation was there. So the ban is lifted. So people finally have access to internet and social media again. And I think this is when we in America started to see these horrific videos of.

children getting shot in the streets and all of this stuff started to flood. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, everywhere. What happened the night of September 8th? Once the social media ban is lifted, everyone can get back online and starts to see even more what is going on. What did the young people do that night of September 8th? It was silent. Social media was silent, but it was echoing with, I mean, how to address this. Almost each social media users, each individuals, they were just saying that this government, should go, it has lost, they should be criminally, they should be charged for criminal cases

and they should be booked for their crimes. So these were the sentiments because they were killings of nine innocent lives. And in certain ways, the plan was going. Several groups, they were planning. Of course, Genji, they were planning, they had planned and they were talking, they were circulating messages and everywhere because social media ban was lifted, so it was accessible for everyone. So it got more popular and it feruated more people. So these Everyone, they were just planning and even other groups. They were planning to just come on the street and support them on September 9. Because as per the communication and conversation, this government had already lost its, you know, it was completely illegal in their opinion that like this could never have happened.

But because it was completely unimaginable. What happened in 24 hours in Nepal, that is completely unbelievable and unimaginable, but which has already happened. So what happened in just one day, a three-dits killed 19 youth. And in second day, everything was PM designed and everything was, you know, smoked into asses. When did they start lighting those buildings on fire? Was that the night of the 8th or was that on the 9th? Because I feel like as far as I saw on the Internet, all of these government buildings looked like they were on fire. Yeah.

There were agitation from the night only, but it started after 10 o'clock, I think early in the morning of September 9. It started from early in the morning. Despite curfew, they just started protesting. They just kept on protesting. And once the security officials and police, they surrendered, they started attacking leaders, traditional party leaders. They torts public properties, public buildings, including Attorney General Office, Supreme Court, Parliament, district courts,

ministers' quarters, their houses, they entered into their house. They brutally, you know, smashed. them, trash them. There are several videos which are, you know, available internet. You can see the footage. One minister was chased even in a river. I saw that. It looked like they were throwing him into the river. Yeah, he was trying to escape, but protesters were so fiduciated. They weren't ready to leave anyone. They were just searching these people's house, their locations, and they just kept on attacking them. So this turned completely brutal. And this shouldn't have

turned this violent. This shouldn't have burned. I would say this public properties in the cuts that we have. This video is brought to you by Delete Me. As a high-profile journalist dealing with stalking, death threats, harassment, and more, I know how crucial it is to protect your privacy online. Unfortunately, no matter how careful you are, data brokers will collect and sell your personal information to anyone willing to pay for it. This includes your name, address, phone number, and more.

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and use code Taylor 20 at checkout. Don't wait until it's too late to safeguard your privacy. Make sure your data and your families stays protected. Have any of the government leaders been killed or hurt, where are they right now? Where's the prime minister and all of these government leaders now? As for my knowledge so far, they are hiding in safe places. They have been injured.

Some of many of them, they have been attacked very badly. But there are no official report that the current leader, the top leaders, any of them, they have been killed or they have been murdered. But yeah, former prime minister wife, she succumbed to burn injuries during treatment because the former prime minister house was set on fire. and she was trapped into that house maybe, and due to that reason, she succumbed to this fire, burn injuries and she passed away.

So these things happened there. So what is the political situation now? Who's in charge? If they've driven out the government and burned the prime minister's house and everything else, the Supreme Court, who is in charge of the country? The communication is still in process

that what are going to happen officially. But right now the army, they have taken, there is official statements and official announcements from Army that they have taken this situation. They're trying to calm this situation. They have taken this control. But they are not, they have not taken the control of government or anything else. They are just trying to calm this protest that there will be no any kind of vandalism. There will be no any kind of attack. There will be any kind of looting. There will be no any kind of, you know, damages to public property. So they're just trying to calm this situation. I heard some of the media that their

army has already taken control of everything. No, they're just trying to. trying to calm down after the official statements and everything, there shouldn't be now any more violence or there shouldn't be any kind of more attacks. So they are just trying to, you know, maintain peace in the country. And they are very helpful. I see them. I see some of the pictures. I saw some of the videos available.

I read their official statements. It looks completely fine. They are just controlling the situation. And now maybe until tomorrow, September 11 morning, there is a curfew announced by Army to control the situation. But let's hope there will be something. There are some popular leaders. Names are being flaunted and they want them to lead the government and to conduct election in a few months or in a year.

So these kind of conversations are happening. But they don't want these traditional parties to be any more associated with politics because they have been announced. They institutionalized corruption. They have destroyed the country in very deep manner. So due to these all reasons, they just don't want them to be with the government. And I think that even they would not dare maybe now because people are still very furiated. They might attack them again. So this could happen.

But let's hope maybe new leaders who are emerging and we have emerged. For example, the Kathmandu metropolitan city mayor, Balindrasa, his name is being announced and being said quite a lot and people's sentiments are with him. And there are some other leaders also. They want him to lead the country. Got it. So they're basically cleaning house. All those corrupt people have been sort of effectively driven out to the government and attacked.

And now they're just waiting to see kind of who is going to step into power. I want to talk a little bit about the Internet and the role that it played. I feel like, you know, especially right now in America and around the world, there are so many efforts to censor and control social media. And we have a bunch of rules. I mean, one law just went into effect in the UK, cracking down on social media where you have to age, verify, identify your identity before using the internet, basically. Can you talk a little bit about like social media in Nepal? Like prior to this event and prior to this crackdown, were people

pretty online and like how were people using social media in that country previously? People they were completely using very freely. They were frustrated with this government. They were criticizing boldly and very brightly and mercilessly. So this was maybe the reason that government started controlling even TikTok was banned back into 133. The previous government had banned that due to this citing that of social harmony because people they were just protesting. I mean, they had found this earlier they used to go in the public places and other places to just protest again government irregularities. But they had found this option that even without going there, considering their safety and all, they were protesting very freely and

it was very open. There were lively discussions. People would support. people who oppose irregularities and everything and taking advantage of power of the government and authorities they launched this blanket ban so this restricted from everything even basic you know communication it had turned like their daily part of life it was just not like okay even if it is not there we can live without it was not like that people cannot live without it so due to that reason it just got turned in certain ways it triggered everyone now we cannot just tolerate this government and these kind of authorities and then killings, my gosh. Yeah, it's horrible.

But I also think it's so incredible that, you know, that they were able to make their voices heard in that way. I'm curious what you thought of the media coverage. And I don't know if you saw like the New York Times headline or some of these other headlines where people were really frustrated. Something you mentioned earlier, right, is that they were protesting corruption. And you see this language a lot in international coverage of these social media bans and even the TikTok ban.

know we had the TikTok ban in the U.S. as well, where people were speaking out about the genocide in Gaza on TikTok. So the government decided to ban it. When people were calling and Gen Z was calling, there was a lot of headlines that were just like, oh, Gen Z can't live without their TikTok. You know, they're so addicted to social media. This is why they're calling. And it seemed like a lot of similar headlines. Like I saw people in Nepal pushing back on similar international headlines about this event,

where people were saying, no, it's not because the teenagers are addicted to social media. it's because this is the way that they're able to speak truth to power and to call out corruption. So I'm curious, like, what you thought of that international media, like, storyline around teenagers and social media. International media, they always play this not good role. I mean, they are very good. I read them. I enjoy them. But they shouldn't set their narrative.

They should really understand because this was the voice and this is the voice of this new generation. Not these, you know, millennials or any other generation. In their time, the media was different. Right. And in each development of I'm a student of mass communication and journalism. I have done my master's in journalism. I have read the literature, so okay, how this has developed so far. So, you know, in every time there was some sort of advancement, technological advancement. So this was their way of leaving in certain ways, right? But this was not the reason.

You cannot just popularize in this way launching. This was also in certain ways I would say bad attack on this campaign that they had launched against corruption. because the major reason was corruption, not this social media ban. So I think every media, this would highlight the real reason of this campaign. And they should just mention this, okay, social media ban was this trigger point. So they are highlighting more this trigger point, but not corruption. Corruption is rooted problem. There have been, you know, billions and billions of corruptions.

And corruption was the major reason that people were not able to access there, even basic stuff, even for services. I have seen people paying corruptions with my own eyes and I couldn't do anything. As a journalist, it looks so frustrating. I mean, people, they were just frustrated with it. I mean, they wouldn't even allow anything. So corruption is the main reason. They should highlight this corruption. You know, that's why even I spoke with some other media yesterday from India.

That, okay, corruption is the main reason. Some of them are even they are linking with this monarchy which happened a few months back in March. No, it had no relations. Gen. they completely, they are against this monarchy. They don't like monarchs or anything as such. They just want democracy and they want lively democracy without corruption. Yeah, and I think that you can't have democracy without free speech and free expression.

And so I think if you try to cut off the free expression and cut off their ability to call out corruption and organize against corruption using the internet, that's very anti-democratic. I mean, that is authoritarianism. I'm wondering, like, you as a journalist, I mean, what is the internet landscape like for you? Do you use social media a lot to reach people, you know, where you work now? Like, how has the media landscape changed? I know here in the U.S., most people get their news now just from independent content creators and people on the internet. But what is the landscape like in Nepal?

It's pretty much similar. People, they were getting all the updates. They are a lot of independent voice. There are many small newsrooms. They were just operating on their own, based on the venue of, revenue that generated from YouTube and other media and sponsors if they obtained. So the situation was pretty much similar even for my reporting I used to get a lot of contacts and a lot of information from social media because

people used to go live people used to upload certain updates certain video videos from in across the country even across the globe so that was the major source to verify to reach real source also okay what's happening is it really correct or not to even debunk and counter these disinformation it is completely true in the in the case of Nepal also. What's happening in the USA? Okay, people are more aware there. They are more active there.

But here also, whatever way they were capable of, whatever they could do, they were doing everything possible. And they had completely shifted that. The viewers, see, readers, if of traditionally established media, it has completely reduced. And media, they were in crisis. But this newly emerged independent voices,

independent newsrooms, they were so active and people relied on them. They heavily relied on them. them. And ban on this, this was completely anti-democratic and it triggered them because even they could not, you know, raise their voice against corruption. At least they were raising their voice against corruption on these social media platforms. But ban, like they completely attacked on their voice. Yeah, it's so important to have free speech. Is there anything else that you think people are missing or should know about Nepal and about what happened

that you feel like isn't getting out there? Have you seen anything else that you really want to communicate to a more international audience? So I would say Nepal is very peaceful country. We live in harmony. I mean, people are so chill and so cool there. They don't like to even bother anyone else. But this was so bad. This had turned so worse that they could not control themselves.

And the killing was the major reason after the protest. It turned so violent. So I would just request international audience through your platform and through this media that, I mean, as soon as it gets normal. normalized. Nepal is very safe place. Everyone, they are just welcome here. They just come here. Nobody, you know, they're just, they're so welcoming. They would just welcome you with open arms and all. But this sent protest, it was unexpected. Even I had never thought, no one had ever thought that this would turn this bad. But whatever has happened, even, let's drop my journalist's hat right now. I'm also very young and seeing everything working in this country. I was also frustrated in certain ways. So whatever, has happened to many extent it's good but destruction and devastation which has taken place you can never support them because those were our property and there were some vested group they took advantage of this and they incited this protest in bad way so yeah it's safe place i think

very soon there will be uh nepal will be good place to come and visit so i would request do not to be mislaid by any other misinformation misinformation or disinformation please follow authentic information about Nepal, reach to your sources in Nepal, and do visit Nepal as soon as everything is under control. We are very happy to welcome everyone, every citizen from each country. It looks so beautiful, and I really hope to go one day. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. It was really lovely talking to you and that independent voice like you, they are reaching us and they are talking to us and really signing light on true side of this protest. and the recent development.

So thank you so much that it is me. I'm really thankful. And I hope that more people they get to listen to this. So there'll be no misinformation or disinformation about it. Thank you. Thanks again to Delete me for sponsoring this video.

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That's usermag.co, usermag.co, where I write about all of this stuff and more. Thanks so much for watching, and I'll be back next week with a brand new episode of Free Speech Friday. See you then.