Unrest in Nepal Causes Riots and Social Media Bans

Dissatisfaction with the Nepal government boiled over on Sept. 8, 2025, when people began to protest for an end to corruption in the country. Many people gathered to demand change, claiming that people were being killed by police on behalf of political leaders, like Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.

In response, the government of Nepal instituted a social media blackout, eliminating the country's access to platforms like Facebook, X, and more.

Unfortunately, this decision caused widespread violence and an increase in protests that left nearly 20 people dead and several homes in ruins.

Shortly after issuing the social media ban, the government made some major changes, which included finding a new head of state. Keep reading to find out if social media is still banned in Nepal, and what Gen Z has to do with the massive movement determined to end corruption in the beautiful country.

On Sept. 8, 2025, the government banned social media in Nepal. This wasn't the first time that they made such a significant move towards preventing citizens from communicating and organizing. In 2023, TikTok was banned by leaders, who claimed that the app disrupted "social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials," according to reporting from NPR.

That ban lasted through 2024, and it was only lifted after TikTok leadership agreed to begin following local laws.

However, the 2025 social media ban was much more short-lived, and it was lifted early Sept. 9, 2025. According to NPR, the reversal of the social media ban also saw the end of Khadga Prasad Oli, who announced that he would be stepping down immediately.

Sharma Oli was the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal until 2014, according to Wikipedia. Then, the following year he became the 38th prime minister of the country. He severed several terms (not all consecutively) before stepping down.

The younger generation is not happy with how the country of Nepal is being run, which is why they appear to have been spearheading the unrest that came to a head at the start of September. According to the BBC, thousands reported to the parliament building to protest the social media ban, as well as ongoing corruption within the government.

"Rather than [the] social media ban, I think everyone's focus is on corruption," one protester said. "We want our country back - we came to stop corruption."

Gen Z seems especially dissatisfied with the government, and one protester told NPR reporters that they planned to leave the country because there was no future for them otherwise.

Sadly, things ultimately boiled over during the protest, and fire was set to the homes of several officials. Things ultimately ended in tragedy when police arrived in the area. The officers deployed lethal measures to regain control of the crowd, killing 19 people in the process.

As of Sept. 9, 2025, it looks like Nepal is back online, but there's no telling how long that will continue for, and whether or not Gen Z will continue to use social media to fight back against the government it seems so unhappy with.