From Outcry to Overthrow: The Recent Gen-Z Protests in Nepal and the Power (and Limitations) of Digital Organizing for Nonviolent Action

हिमाल सुवेदी, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1997 and 2012, have proven to be a powerful force in protest movements around the world, particularly through their use of social media and digital technology as tools of organization and resistance. In September 2025, Nepal became yet another South Asian country to experience government overthrow due to Gen Z-led protest movements, after Sri Lanka in 2022  and Bangladesh in 2024 .

The Situation in Nepal: An Overview

On 4 September 2025, Nepal’s government under Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli enacted a nationwide ban of over two dozen social media platforms , including Twitter (X), Youtube, Facebook, and Reddit for failing to register under new operating rules. This incited mass discontent as a crackdown on free speech. More broadly, disgruntlement had been growing over growing unemployment and corruption. This was expressed online in a viral social media trend, #nepokids, which aimed to call out the vast economic disparity between working-class youth and children of Nepalese politicians, many of whom flaunt extravagant wealth online by showing off designer goods and expensive vacations.

Sparked principally by the social media ban, youth protestors began organizing on apps not affected by the ban. Tiktok and Discord — a video chat platform primarily used by video gamers — became key elements in protestors’ mobilization strategy. Initially, the protest seemed to be envisioned as a peaceful one, with several leaders of the movement even calling on youth to come wearing their school uniforms. However, as protestors entered the Parliament building on 9 September, they were met with “water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition.”  Largely due to the violent response of the Nepalese Army and government security forces, the movement escalated into what ended up being one of the deadliest protests in Nepal’s modern history. Both Parliament and the Prime Ministers’ residence were set on fire by protestors, which spread to commercial and residential areas of Kathmandu. The final casualty toll reached 75, marking the deadliest day of protest in Nepal’s modern history.

Government Response and Results

The government acted quickly, imposing a nationwide curfew and airlifting politicians from their residences. Oli immediately resigned as the Gen Z movement took to Discord to begin decisions on who might be Nepal’s interim leader. An online vote eventually cemented former chief justice Sushila Karki as the movement’s winning pick, and she was sworn into office as Nepal’s first-ever female PM on 12 September. Parliament was subsequently dissolved, with elections slated to be held on 5 March 2026. The movement attracted widespread international attention and support with both India and China announcing their recognition of the new government , providing Karki’s cabinet with a smooth transition forward.

The Aftermath: What Remains Unclear?

Despite lasting only five days, the 2025 Nepalese protests sent shockwaves through Asia and the rest of the world due to its resounding success and highly unorthodox use of digital technologies to achieve protest movement goals. When analyzing the situation through the lens of nonviolent action, two main questions emerge:

●       Was the eventual violent outcome of protests a central part of the Gen Z movements’ strategy, or was it a purposeful hijacking away from initial nonviolent intentions?

●       What are the benefits and limitations of digital organizing for popular protest movements, particularly ones centred around nonviolence?

The Leaderless Protests and Hami Nepal

Though protests have been reported by many outlets as leaderless and made up of a coalition of various smaller advocacy groups, by far the largest and most influential is Hami Nepal. Hami Nepal is a grassroots collective that provides emergency aid to people in need. Originating around 2015, it became a registered nonprofit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable activities include providing basic essentials to 13,000 families after the 2023 Jarjarkot Earthquake, as well as leading the demand for reforms in the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BHKIHS), Nepal’s premier hospital and health sciences university.

Hami Nepal began addressing government mismanagement in 2025 with their #youthagainstcorruption online campaign, and spearheaded much of the organizational work that went into the September protests through their channels on Discord. Much of the group’s pre-protest activities included organizing volunteers to be available for assistance and medical support to protestors. They also used Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to access banned social media platforms, mobilizing thousands more.

Nonviolent Intent, Violent Results

Available reports and testimonies characterize Hami Nepal’s outreach efforts as largely peaceful. The protest was described to participants as a march beginning a few kilometers away from the Parliament building. Pyush Adhikari, a Nepalese writer and student of physics who took part in the protests, stated that the violence of the uprising was not planned, and that they were “simply high school and university students protesting” until the brutal massacre of 19 student protestors on the first day of demonstrations. After police used excessive force to dispel protestors from moving into the Parliament building that morning, they began intermittent gunfire by mid-afternoon. A 20-year old student protester who was shot in the shoulder around 1:40pm stated that there was “no violence” when she was injured. “It was very peaceful. Out of nowhere, they started firing.”

Human Rights Watch found that security used disproportionate force against demonstrators on the first day of protests, and their indiscriminate violence is what led to the initial fatalities. The second day of protests saw large numbers of the public and other groups join the demonstrations and protest against the killings, but many part of the original Gen Z movement believe that the ensuing violence and destruction of property was perpetrated by mobs and gangs that were not affiliated with Hami Nepal or affiliated groups. A statement issued by the protestors said that the core movement “was and remains nonviolent and rooted in the principles of peaceful civic engagement” and that volunteers were helping to clean up the wreckage, assist citizens, and protect public property.

Though the situation is unclear, testimony from journalists and protestors provides compelling evidence to state that the initial movement was planned to be a nonviolent, student-led initiative.

How Did the “Discord Revolution” Benefit from Online Organizing?

The 2025 Nepalese revolution is an impactful example of the extraordinary powers of digital technology in organizing social movements. Anup Kaphle, Nepalese editor-in-chief of Rest of World, described a growing resentment of traditional media outlets in Nepal over the past decade: “They haven’t really evolved what they cover, how they cover it… are they really doing a public service?” Overwhelmingly, Gen Z consumes news through social media like Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube, and “a narrow selection of online mediums, including online versions of newspapers.” For a generation that almost entirely consumes news online, it’s no surprise that political and protest organizing would also occur through these platforms.

The rapid, real-time nature of social media communications means that protest movements have the potential for wider and faster dissemination. While Hami Nepal served as a central organizer of the movement, social media has made it so their anti-corruption message was spread to youth that hadn’t previously engaged with the organization. The internet’s accessibility in most countries and regions also contributes to protest democratization, enabling more representative coalitions to be formed from groups that have been overlooked by traditional media outlets. This was potently represented in the Discord-faciliated election of Sushila Karki, which had virtually no restrictions on who could join the server and participate.

From a practical standpoint, social media lowers operating costs and organizational needs. Hami Nepal was indeed benefitted by this fact: the organization’s founder, former event manager and DJ Sudan Gurung largely remained as a background facilitator for the majority of the protest,and directed the bulk of Hami Nepal’s organizational capacity towards government transitions and negotiations once protest goals were accomplished. Annali Casanueva-Artis, a Researcher at the ifo Centre for the Economics of Innovation and Digital Transformation in Munich, remarked  that the prevalence of online-organized protests has the potential to improve democratic resilience overall by increasing political accountability and combatting extremist movements.

What are the Limits of Online Organizing for Nonviolent Protest Movements?

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Nepal’s 2025 protests demonstrated many critical issues that arise when relying on social media-facilitated organization. “The same online infrastructure that enables democratic gains also lowers barriers for anti-democratic action,” Casanueva-Artis stated in a research report. The West experienced an extreme version of this phenomenon with the January 6th, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill, where the Proud Boys and other right-wing groups utilized social media channels to mobilize a cross-country force of violent extremists. Even for movements that are peaceful and pro-democratic in nature, the accessibility of social media allows for easy infiltration and misrepresentation of nonviolent goals.

Undoubtedly, the increased potential of online communities to breed extremism and advocate for violence played a role in the alleged hijacking of what Hami Nepal asserts was a nonviolent movement. Movement leaders have continued to affirm that they are not associated with individuals, groups, or ‘opportunists,’ and that instances of violence and destruction were perpetrated by external agitators.

Without effective regulation of extremist or violent rhetoric by social media companies themselves, or targeted legislation that balances freedom of expression with public safety, retaining the integrity of nonviolent protest movements is a task that rests overwhelmingly on central organizers. Digitally, this involves strict moderation of group chats and channels and a stronger organizational structure and coalition from the outset to mitigate risk of protest violence from occurring. Gen-Zers have been the leaders of digital protest organizations that have resulted in monumental political change, particularly in the developing world. Thus, there are several key lessons that might be drawn from Nepal’s example in informing the activities of young protestors around the globe, and in ensuring that legitimate protest is not subject to corruption by nefarious actors.

In the case of Nepal, the accessibility and wide-reaching potential of social media functioned as a double-edged sword: while it enabled the movement to mobilize thousands of youth across the country in a short time frame and accomplished all of its major goals, it also left the movement vulnerable to infiltration by individuals and groups with violent motivations, resulting in casualties and widespread destruction.

The 2026 general elections in Nepal will be a true test of whether the movement attained lasting change, but it is indisputable that social media will continue to play a key role in the organization of Gen Z’s social movements. After decades of cyclical corruption amongst Nepal’s political leaders, the emergence of a social-media facilitated revolution is remarkable in potentially shifting power into the hands of the people.

Jordan Le Roux is a current MA candidate in Public Policy and Administration at Toronto Metropolitan (formerly Ryerson) University. She holds a BA in History, also from TMU, with a focus on international relations and Southeast Asian studies.