Nepal's Viral Coup: Social Media Ban, Deep State Playbook
The images coming out of Kathmandu were jarring: students marching, parliament under attack, and even vehicles burning in the streets. At the center of the controversy was a move by Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to ban 26 major American social media applications, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Oli’s government argued that the ban was necessary to combat misinformation and hold these foreign tech giants accountable by forcing them to register locally and appoint representatives. However, the subsequent violence that ultimately forced the prime minister's resignation was never truly about an app. It was about a fuse that finally found a powder keg. The Trigger That Uncorked Chaos On the surface, the government’s demand—requiring global social media companies to register and comply with local laws within a mere seven days—sounded reasonable for accountability. Yet, the timing and execution were seen by critics as a clear attempt at censorship, especially ...