AI disinformation turns Nepal polls into 'digital battleground'

Slick AI-generated disinformation has flooded election campaigns in Nepal, which votes Thursday in the first polls since deadly protests triggered by a brief ban on social media overthrew the government.

Slick AI-generated disinformation has flooded election campaigns in Nepal, which votes Thursday in the first polls since deadly protests triggered by a brief ban on social media overthrew the government.

The September 2025 protests were driven by tech-savvy youth angry at job shortages and flagrant corruption by an ageing political elite.

Now parties across the political divide are tapping social media to push their agendas and woo voters, especially the young, including a surge of people registering to cast their ballot for the first time.

But some of the content is manipulated or outright fake, experts and fact-checkers say.

"In a country where digital literacy is low, people believe what they see," said Deepak Adhikari, editor of the independent NepalCheck team.

Kathmandu-based technology policy researcher Samik Kharel described a "digital battleground" in the run-up to the landmark vote, warning that Nepal lacked the expertise to monitor the onslaught of machine-generated content.