FROM HASHTAGS TO STREETS: SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROLE IN NEPAL’S POPULIST UPRISING

Abstract

Social media has become the most powerful global weapon, ensuring the freedom of speech and expression, enhancing the way of communication, and providing an influx of data and information. While Populism is a political strategy that connects the emotions and interests of the general public, it often highlights them in opposition to the elites of society or corruption in the system. This study relates populism (a political approach) with the use of social media as a tool to influence and reshape the public perceptions regarding the system's capacity. The September 2025 protests in Nepal highlight the transformative role of social media in shaping contemporary populist movements. The study will investigate the 2025 September protests, triggered by the government’s ban on social media. The digitally active youth demand transparency, accountability, and the end of corruption, mobilized nationwide. Besides, Generation Z, who have been protesting for many months about corruption and nepotism, and the ban on social media blew it up to a populist movement. The paper explores the research aim to analyze how social media and digital activism facilitated youth mobilization during the 2025 populist protests in Nepal.

The paper employs a qualitative research method based on a detailed literature review and secondary data analysis. The paper has established a theoretical framework serving as the foundation for identifying the social media contribution to the populist movements.

The findings suggest that although the movement achieved significant outcomes, the resignation of the Prime Minister of Nepal and the reversal of the social media ban, which became not merely a communication tool but a symbol of freedom and accountability in the system. More than 30 million of Nepal’s population chose their interim representative by using social media apps.