Background and Political Context

According to the 2021 census, 38 percent of households in Nepal have internet connections, while 52 percent of the population are internet users [1].

A large number of citizens use the internet via mobile phones. There are many citizens who don’t use browsers to access the internet but use social media. Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are popular social media in Nepal. The number of people using social media is higher than those who watch TV (31 percent), listen to radio (26 percent), and read newspapers (four percent) for news [2], and they are more likely to be affected by misinformation.

Nine out of every 10 internet users encounter misinformation, and 98 percent of Nepal’s internet users are concerned about the flow of misinformation and its impact on society [3].

Due to the lack of information literacy, limited access to news media, and political instability seen in recent decades, there is a high likelihood of information manipulation in Nepal. Policies drafted by the government to regulate social media, citing the spread of misinformation and other negative trends, do not show respect for freedom of speech, internet freedom, and basic civil rights [4].

Information Manipulation in Nepal

Nepal had experienced information manipulation and its adverse effects even before social media became popular. In 2000, a misinformation about comment on Nepal by an Indian actor led to ethnic violence across the country and the death of some citizens. Around 2009, when misinformation about child kidnappers spread, innocent people were injured and killed in mob beatings in various locations [5].

Although a lot of misinformation spread during the 2001 Royal Massacre or the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, it was more extensively seen during the 2017 elections. After the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, misinformation increased dramatically, and due to the increasing use of misinformation during elections worldwide, it was anticipated that information manipulation could influence elections in Nepal as well.

In a 2021 CMR-Nepal survey, 92 percent of respondents reported seeing misinformation on the internet, and 98 percent believed that misinformation could be a problem for Nepali society and politics [6]. Experts were also concerned about the possibility of information manipulation during elections, and even more so about the potential involvement of foreign actors, especially neighboring countries [7].

Election Commission’s Intervention

In the Social Media Usage Policy [8] issued in 2020, Nepal’s Election Commission identified information manipulation as a challenge and put forward the concept of developing necessary policies, strategies, and programs against it, as well as collaborating with technology companies.

The Commission conducted orientations to enhance the capacity of election officers and its staff regarding misinformation. During the 2022 election, the Election Code of Conduct included provisions related to misinformation and propaganda, as well as policies regarding misinformation and hate speech.

The Commission established a monitoring unit, including the cyber bureaus of Nepal Police and Nepali Army, to monitor misinformation and hate speech transmitted through online media. Additionally, for public awareness, the Commission collaborated with some telecomm companies to provide information about misinformation in mobile ringtones.

In 2022, the Election Commission attempted to expand relationships with platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter to reduce the number and impact of misinformation that could spread on social media during elections. Stating that information manipulation on social media during elections would be the biggest challenge, the Commission made its first attempt to establish contact with major technology companies. Among them, Meta, the company of Facebook and Instagram, collaborated with the Commission, while TikTok and Twitter opened direct communication channels regarding harmful election-related misinformation [9].

Facebook announced on September 7, 2022, that Nepal’s data would be available in its Ad Library. In this library, data regarding political or other advertisements from Nepal on Facebook and Instagram can be viewed for up to seven years. Before the election, the Meta company held various meetings and discussions in Nepal, as well as separate programs to inform the Election Commission, representatives of political parties, and journalists about Meta’s election-related efforts and available tools.

Civil Society Programs Against Information Manipulation

Among the notable interventions from the civil society during Nepal’s 2022 election, the work done by the Center for Media Research — Nepal (CMR-Nepal) and Nepal Fact Check can be considered as examples. When Nepal held elections in 2017, CMR-Nepal published an flyer [10] to inform citizens and media about misinformation, as well as conducted general monitoring of information manipulation during the election.

The monitoring showed that there were extensive attempts to manipulate information on online media and social media for the benefit by political actors during the election. Since then, CMR-Nepal has been continuously monitoring information manipulation, and it started Nepal Fact Check in 2020 in collaboration with the popular blog MySansar to fight viral misinformation [11].

Before the 2022 election, with the support of the International Republican Institute (IRI), the organization held discussions with stakeholders about information manipulation and its impacts in all seven provinces of Nepal. The discussions concluded that there is a lot of information manipulation during elections, and such manipulation can affect democracy itself, so it needs to be addressed in a timely manner.

IRI’s support in placing monitors in all seven provinces of the country to monitor information manipulation during the election, and the training provided to them on fact-checking, developed Nepal Fact Check’s capacity to monitor misinformation across the country during the election, report potential harmful content to social media, and conduct fact-checks [12].

Additionally, Nepal Fact Check was able to reach millions of citizens by helping influential TikTok users create videos to spread awareness about misinformation, and even produced a song against misinformation in collaboration with a popular folk singer, which has been viewed more than three hundred thousand times on YouTube.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI), on the other hand, helped PANOS South Asia’s fact-checking effort called South Asia Check to monitor misinformation and hate speech targeting social media pages of women in politics for a year before the election. NDI provided support to develop the necessary skills and methods for this.

Similarly, it supported the Purple Foundation to study online hate speech against women in politics. According to NDI, the study, based on a survey of 492 people across the country, 80 interviews, and 42 discussions, is the first on this subject in Nepal.

IFES had been working with various NGOs since June 2020 to empower youth across Nepal to fight misinformation. Under this program, they trained 34 youths, who subsequently conducted 23 webinars, successfully passing on that learning to more than 500 youths. Based on complaints, the Nepal Press Council suspended seven online news portals on charges of violating the Election Code of Conduct. IFES had also provided media literacy training to 7,200 youths across the country.

Nepal’s Lessons on Combating Misinformation During Elections

A Whole-Society Response is Necessary

During Nepal’s 2022 general election, there was no evidence of information manipulation significantly influencing the election results or incite violence. There was more discussion about misinformation and other information manipulation in newspaper materials or public discussions than before. One factor in such increased discussion was the collaboration of the Election Commission and civil society with platforms. Such collaborations included proactive and reactive communication programs, from spreading public awareness and educating authorities to fact-checking and reporting.

Both Governmental and Non-governmental Efforts are Necessary

Efforts made only by the government or only by the non-governmental sector may not be effective in mitigating information manipulation. It is effective to have as many types of programs as possible against information manipulation, along with both proactive and reactive communication. The government can effectively work on policy development and implementation, collaboration with platforms, increasing public awareness, and monitoring, while the private sector can work on increasing public awareness, collaborating with and reporting to social media platforms, fact-checking, and studying potential impact assessment.

The Role of Platforms is Important

Meta company’s positive presence was evident in Nepal’s 2022 election. Meta not only showed its activity through discussions and meetings before the election but also provided training to stakeholders. In such training, Meta showcased its features and provided information about policies on Facebook. This increased access to their data. Additionally, by establishing direct contact points for the Election Commission and civil society, it accelerated the process of identifying misinformation in a timely manner and taking necessary action. TikTok and Twitter also established direct communication channels and committed to taking timely action regarding harmful information.

(English translation of the case study published in “सूचना चलखेलको मुकाबिला: निर्वाचन र त्यसको सेरोफेरोका लागि स्रोतपुस्तिका” published by NDI, IRI and Standford Internet Observatory in 2022. Download Nepali version here.)

References

[1] National Statistics Office (n.d.). National Population and Housing Census 2021. https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results

[2] Dixit, Kunda (2022). Nepal’s interface with information. Nepali Times, 2022 May 28.

[3] Acharya, Ujjwal (2022). Nepal Social Media Users Survey 2021. Center for Media Research — Nepal.

[4] Digital Rights Nepal (n.d.). https://digitalrightsnepal.org/?page_id=1008

[5] Acharya, Ujjwal (2023). Nepal: Promoting digital literacy with scarce resources, in Worthington, Jane (eds.) Managing the Misinformation Effect : The State of Fact-Checking in Asia. International Federation of Journalists.

[6] Acharya, Ujjwal (2022). Nepal Social Media Users Survey 2021. Center for Media Research — Nepal.

[7] Shrestha, Umesh (2022). Misinformation During Election (in Nepali). Kantipur Daily, 2022 December 23.

[8] Election Commission of Nepal (2021). Policy on the use of social media in Electoral Management, 2077. https://election.gov.np/source/Resources%20Other/05_ECN_Social_Media_Policy_English_20210622_v1.pdf

[9] Ojha, Anup (2022). Election Commission joins hands with social media giants to rein in misinformation. The Kathmandu Post, 2022 October 15. https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2022/10/15/election-commission-joins-hands-with-social-media-giants-to-rein-in-misinformation

[10] CMR — Nepal (2017). What is misinformation? https://research.butmedia.org/fake-news-disinformation-misinformation/

[11] CMR — Nepal (2020). NepalFactCheck launched to fight fake news and disinformation. https://research.butmedia.org/nepal-fact-check-launched-to-fight-fake-news-and-disinformation/

[12] CMR — Nepal (2022). Roundtables on misinformation and its impact on democracy held in 7 provinces. https://research.butmedia.org/roundtables-on-misinformation-its-impact-on-democracy-in-all-7-provinces/