Anup Kaphle on How Gen-Z’s Online Discontent Toppled Nepal’s Government

In early September, Anup Kaphle, the editor in chief of the digital news site Rest of World, was in his home country, Nepal, for what he hoped would be a vacation. Around the same time, discontent was brewing among the country’s young people over a weak economy, rising corruption, and a new social media ban, which was poised to shut down the platforms many of them relied on for information, connection, and spare income.

On September 8, that discontent erupted in a fury of protests and attacks on government and economic institutions, much of it organized on social media platforms like Instagram and Discord. By the end of a week of riots, these so-called “Gen Z Protests” would see the nation’s Parliament set afire, several prominent politicians’ homes attacked, and the prime minister forced to resign. Some seventy-five people were killed and another two thousand injured. Since then, similar Gen Z–led uprisings have taken place in Morocco and Madagascar.

Media institutions in Nepal found themselves trapped in the middle. Some were seen as arms of the establishment. Others were instrumental in providing accurate information about the unfolding events that the social media news influencers who drove the protests relied on. Kaphle was forced to suspend his vacation, and soon found himself inside a Nepali newsroom that was under threat of being besieged by protesters. Rest of World, which considers itself a “technology first” global news publication, was uniquely positioned to cover how the battle over digital rights and the growing social upheaval coalesced into real-world unrest. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.