Guilherme Canela is Chief of the Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists Section of UNESCO in Paris. He recently visited Nepal to discuss <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/internet-in-everything">freedom of expression in the digital media</a>. Nepali Times spoke to him about new challenges to free media. Excerpts: Nepali Times: Can you tell us about how the discussions with Nepal’s lawmakers went? Guilherme Canela: My visit, in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was to have an open discussion with them about international standards on freedom of expression. It was very enriching to learn the key concerns of Members of Parliament regarding the current challenges Nepal faces regarding the existing legal framework regulating the media and digital ecosystem, vis a vis the immense changes in this environment related to the technological revolution we all are experiencing, and how these challenges can be addressed in alignment with the International Human Rights Law. There is a fine balance between freedom of expression and that same freedom being used to spread intolerance and hatred. What are the main conclusions of UNESCO’s own study on the governance of digital platforms?&nbsp; Digital platforms have become a new front in the pursuit of peace. They have had a transformative role in advancing human rights. They have democratised access to knowledge and culture, enabled new voices to be heard, and fostered global connections, but, as you say, at the same time they have become <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/press-for-people">ecosystems of misinformation, disinformation, ideological polarisation, and incitement to violence, discrimination, and hate</a>.&nbsp; Such features have undermined democratic values and threatened human rights across the world. Our job, therefore, is too foster the huge positive side of this equation and to counter the negative externalities it generates. Thus, whereas the digital companies don’t operate with transparency, accountability and due diligence, many countries have embarked on regulatory processes without keeping a human rights approach as a main principle thereby risking the shrink of the civic space and leading to different kinds of restriction not aligned with International Human Rights Law. UNESCO aims to ensure that everyone’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-freedom-after-expression">freedom of expression</a>, access to information and diverse cultural content are guaranteed, while various stakeholders, including governments, deal with the problems of dis- and misinformation and hate speech online. These problems will be better addressed, in a way that aligns with international human rights law, through implementing the UNESCO Guidelines in a comprehensive and coherent manner. In a nutshell, UNESCO’s proposal, which was debated worldwide for almost 2 years, and received 10,000 comments coming from actors from 134 countries, suggests a governance system that can improve the processes currently used by the tech companies, aiming to expand freedom of expression, while dealing with the negative externalities. But when can we deem the risks so high that governments can justify restricting freedom of expression through digital platforms under international standards? The rapidly evolving digital era has seen the rise of the imposition of restrictive measures on freedom of expression and the press such as infringement on right to privacy, censorship, and the prevention of general access to the dissemination of information, both online and offline, including internet shutdowns. However, the justification for governments to restrict such freedoms on digital platforms arises when there are identifiable and/or substantial risks to public safety, national security, or individual rights which cannot be sufficiently mitigated through other means. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-should-be-open-for-south-asia">Nepal should be open for South Asia</a> In order for any restriction to be legitimate it must fulfil the criteria set out in international standards on freedom of expression, such as the Articles 19 (3) and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the Three-Part Test, which demands that any interference must be provided for by the law, pursue a legitimate aim, and be necessary and proportional to secure one of those aims.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240326090344_61e1f3e429a81b7cb025116ed038eadcd019e4a3dc0203af4e48abaa2c81fbe3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240326090344_61e1f3e429a81b7cb025116ed038eadcd019e4a3dc0203af4e48abaa2c81fbe3" data-rendition-name="original" width="853" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Guilherme Canela in Nepal "> <figcaption>Guilherme Canela(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption> </figure>  In essence, any statutory restriction to freedom of expression must be subject to oversight and review mechanisms in order to uphold the principle of transparency, accountability and prevent abuse of power. While governments may be justified in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/gagging-the-press-in-installments">restricting freedom of expression</a> on digital platforms under certain circumstances, such restrictions must be carefully circumscribed to protect the fundamental rights of individuals and uphold the principles of democracy, pluralism, and open discourse in the digital age. Is there not a danger, then, that states can justify banning digital platforms using the excuse of maintaining “social harmony”? Measures applied by both companies and states should always be proportional to the harm that is intended to prevent. From companies, removal and blocking of content and account suspension should only be used as a last resort in the most serious cases. From the side of governments, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rattled-by-criticism-nepal-bans-tiktok">banning a digital platform</a> should be proportionate to the level of harm it causes and should be accompanied by transparent processes, due diligence, due process of law and consideration of alternative measures to mitigate risks while preserving the benefits of digital platforms for legitimate users. Additionally, regulatory actions should be based on evidence-based assessments and subject to judicial review to ensure they are fair, just, and consistent with principles of freedom of expression and the rule of law. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/talking-about-tiktok">Banning digital platforms</a> can be considered proportionate in certain circumstances where their activities pose significant harm that outweighs the benefits they provide. Here are two scenarios where banning digital platforms might be considered proportionate. Systemic violation of international human rights standards: If a digital platform systemically violates international human rights standards despite warnings and sanctions. And second, Exploitative Practices: when platforms engage in exploitative practices such as facilitating illegal activities (such as child pornography) or enabling human trafficking. However, it is important to outline that our Guidelines do not call on the government to establish a department or organisation to moderate content. The Guidelines consider that digital platforms should not be held liable when they act in good faith and with due diligence, carry out voluntary investigations, or take other measures aimed at detecting, identifying, and removing or disabling access to content that is prohibited under article 20 of the ICCPR or that has been restricted in terms of article 19(3) of the ICCPR. How can journalists protect their freedoms when democracy itself is threatened? Journalists can protect their freedom by first keeping on doing their job and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/censuring-censorship">hold all powers accountable</a>. But they cannot do it alone or in a vacuum, neither should they be left alone to deal with existential safety and viability challenges. As proclaimed by all UNESCO’s member states, journalism should be valued as a fundamental ‘public good’ with citizens putting their trust in it also through teaching and encouraging media and information literacy. It demands the State protect media viability, the rule of law institutions defending media freedom from all attacks, including by elected officials, and for politicians committing to respect the fundamentals of democracy, including the role of the press as a watchdog. There is an urgent need to further demonstrate to our societies the value of journalism (and all fundamental freedoms) not only to guarantee political and civil rights, but to guarantee all other rights. When someone is protesting to have better education or better health, ultimately what they want is to protect the rights of education and a healthy life, but they can’t do that if they don’t have freedom of expression in the first place and if watchdogs, like journalists, are being silenced. Your report also cites the critical need for digital platforms to protect electoral integrity. How can this be done?&nbsp; Firstly, in UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of the Digital Platforms, we highlight the need for Digital platforms to recognise their role in supporting democratic institutions by preserving electoral integrity. Their acceptance of the role is not trivial as it implies an engagement regarding democracies. UNESCO also recommends establishing a comprehensive risk assessment process that focuses on the integrity of the electoral cycle leading up to and during major electoral events. These assessments should be conducted transparently and in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and should include a gender perspective to address the escalating online violence against women in electoral contexts. Proactive measures based on the identified risks are essential to prevent potential threats to the integrity of the electoral process. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/dont-act-on-the-act">Don't act on the act</a>, Editorial Secondly, UNESCO urges digital platforms to ensure that users have access to a diverse range of information and ideas, in line with international human rights law. Attention should be given to automated tools to prevent any hindrances in accessing election-related content and diverse viewpoints. Additionally, digital platforms should review their products, policies, and practices related to political advertising to avoid arbitrary limitations on candidates' or parties' ability to disseminate their messages during the electoral cycle. The promotion of independent fact-checking, advertisement archives, and public alerts is highlighted as crucial measures to uphold electoral integrity in content dissemination.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240326090344_d2b0d4b66fb1632336f876e84b0e72004620937c79e36d9f94828bd8478ab937.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240326090344_d2b0d4b66fb1632336f876e84b0e72004620937c79e36d9f94828bd8478ab937" data-rendition-name="original" width="730" height="1029" loading="lazy" alt="UNESCO guidelines for the governance of digital platforms"> </figure>  Finally, transparency is emphasised across various aspects, including the use and impact of automated tools, engagement with stakeholders and governance systems, and the identification of political advertisements. Digital platforms are responsible for disclosing funding details, applying equal content moderation rules, and tracking the monetisation of political posts. The retention of advertisements in a publicly accessible online library, along with information on funding and targeted demographics, contributes to an accountable and transparent digital environment during electoral cycles. If put in place by the platforms, these measures will collectively reinforce the commitment to preserving electoral integrity in the digital age. How can digital platforms be held more responsible when Big Tech is controlled from outside national jurisdictions whereas the impact of their content is domestic?&nbsp; The strategy for the implementation of the UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms aims to promote the enabling environment for freedom of expression and information and enhance the responsibility of digital platforms worldwide by Building a Network of Networks by fostering international collaboration and cooperation among regulatory authorities and civil society to develop common standards and regulations for digital platforms. This can help ensure that platforms adhere to responsible practices regardless of their location of ownership and may also reduce lawfare. Then there are Public-Private Partnerships to address regulatory challenges associated with digital platforms. Collaboration between governments, industry stakeholders, and civil society can facilitate the development of effective governance frameworks. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">Media mêlée in the age of AI</a>, Kunda Dixit Promoting transparency and accountability of the governance system (independent regulatory authorities) and of the digital platforms policies and practices. Human rights due diligence and content moderation and curation based on international human rights standards must be upheld. The governance system itself must have independent oversight mechanisms to monitor the activities of digital platforms within national jurisdictions. We must also empower users by providing them with tools and resources to understand and manage their online experiences through media and information literacy. This includes features for content control, privacy protection, and mechanisms for reporting harmful content or behaviour. Lastly, there must be ethical guidelines for digital platforms that prioritise transparency, fairness, and respect for human rights. These guidelines can serve as a foundation for responsible platform governance.

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Balancing free expression with fake news on social media

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238b69c7e80680e0c739fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="640"/><figcaption>Photo: JORGE FRANGANILLO/WIKIMEDIA</figcaption></figure>In June, inside a crowded auditorium of the Oslo Met University in Norway, YouTube’s Brandon Feldman was fielding questions from fact-checkers from around the world.Feldman had just finished a "fireside chat" with Baybars Orsek, the director of the International Fact-checking Network (<a href="https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/">IFCN</a>), when he was bombarded with questions from the audience.To the applause of fellow fact-checkers, one speaker after another exposed YouTube's failure to stop the spread of false information on the platform.A participant from Pakistan's Soch Factcheck said he came across a flood of potentially fatal false claims on YouTube. Others exposed videos with hate speech that went unchecked. Feldman promised reform, but it was too little, too late to appease fact-checkers.I was in Oslo for the annual <a href="https://globalfact9.com/register">Global Fact 9</a> Summit, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/29/fact-checking-movement-grapples-with-world-awash-false-claims/">first in-person conference</a> in three years with nearly 500 participants from 69 nations.I clicked through our own South Asia Check and showed <a href="http://southasiacheck.org/fact-check/popular-youtube-interview-on-covid-19-full-of-false-misleading-claims/">articles</a> debunking conspiracy theories around Covid-19.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/election-infowar-goes-digital/">Election infowar goes digital</a>, Ramesh KumarIn one session, employees of TikTok, a short-video platform that is becoming increasingly popular in Nepal, spoke about how they were tackling information disorder on the platform. There was a session on automated fact-checking. At another panel, a Meta speaker noted that Facebook does not moderate political content.After a week of this, I was a little overwhelmed by the work that lay ahead back in Nepal which is having federal and provincial elections on 20 November. If the local election in May was any indication, this one too would be fought on social media platforms.Balen Shah and Sunita Dangol, who ran for mayor and deputy mayor of Kathmandu in May were the targets of rumours and false information. Disinformation actors aim to delegitimise candidates or attack rivals with propaganda. The objective is to influence, if not manipulate, public discourse.With easy access to the Internet, more Nepalis are getting news and entertainment through their mobiles. This will inevitably lead to a proliferation of falsehood because social media algorithms promote clicks that are designed to attract users, and keep them on the platform.Both Facebook and TikTok have features that help content go viral. During significant news events, such as elections, people unknowingly share false information (also called misinformation) with significant impact on the integrity of the electoral process.Fact-checking, supporting media literacy initiatives, and media monitoring during elections can all contribute to fostering trust in public institutions.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-social-media-contagion/">The social media contagion</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel One of the reasons we started <a href="https://nepalcheck.org/">NepalCheck.Org</a> as the elections approached was to combat misinformation. But it is difficult to distinguish fact from fake, truth from trolls, and most importantly, to expose public officials who are lying. The fact-check report must be supported by reliable, authoritative evidence.How do we do it? The same tools that help spread misinformation and disinformation can also be employed to identify and debunk false claims.We conduct keyword searches on Google to verify information. Finding problematic online content requires constant social media monitoring. Since the news is the main source of false information, fact-checkers must be up to date on current affairs.Online search skills are also crucial. But there is a catch: you have to keep refining your searches and building on what you find in order to identify the origin of a misleading photo or video.Since fact-checking started in the US in the early 2000s, a lot has changed. It picked up steam during the 2016 US presidential elections. Recent international events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, have demonstrated how you can find the truth by utilising information that is publicly available.It has prompted the creation of novel tactics such as <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/osint-ukraine-war-satellite-images-plane-tracking-social?utm_source=dynamic&amp;utm_campaign=bfsharetwitter">open-source intelligence</a>, which assesses data from readily available sources using more sophisticated technologies to combat misinformation.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/paradigm-shift-in-nepali-media/">Paradigm shift in Nepali media</a>, Shristi KarkiDespite the rise in popularity of fact-checking, the pervasiveness of viral disinformation makes it appear like an intractable challenge. A quote often attributed to American author Mark Twain succinctly captures the situation: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is putting on its shoes.”In my two and a half years as a fact-checking editor, I have occasionally felt like I am up against powerful fake news factories. Only a small portion of online misinformation and disinformation can be fact-checked.New studies in ‘inoculation theory’, have given me hope for a better future. Researchers from the universities of Bristol and Cambridge in the UK <a href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/08/can-you-inoculate-people-against-misinformation-before-they-even-see-it-this-study-says-yes/">found</a> that users can more effectively battle misinformation and disinformation if they are aware of the techniques used to distribute it.A total of 30,000 participants watched video clips to become more familiar with manipulative strategies, including employing polarising and emotional language. The study advocated immunising people against the tactics of misinformation and disinformation, drawing on the psychological concept of ‘inoculation'.Exposure to less harmful disinformation can aid in the development of a person's defences against propaganda and misleading claims, much like a vaccine does.As we progressively recover from the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to the vaccine, let us hope that a new vaccination will be an effective tool against the ‘infodemic’.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/punished-for-fact-checking-in-nepal/">Punished for fact-checking in Nepal</a>, SalokyaDeepak Adhikari is the editor of NepalCheck.Org, a new bilingual fact-checking platform in Nepal. He was the editor of South Asia Check from March 2020 to July 2022.

Inoculation against misinformation

<figure><img width="828" height="621" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217589c7e80680e0ba9e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure> The Himal Media Mela 2022 continued on Saturday following the keynote address of Ravish Kumar, group editor of NDTV India.The day-long conference of Nepali media professors, researchers, and other stakeholders involved four panels in which speakers which included members of the press, had wide-ranging conversation about the media industry and its changing narrative.The first panel on Election, Fake News and Media Literacy included Ramkrishna Regmi, Sama Thapa, and Salokya in a discussion about how fake news and disinformation can influence elections as Nepal counts down to the local polls next week.“The mainstream is getting driven by social media, which operates with non-processed content,” said Ramkrishna Regmi. “This has led to the omission of important issues around events including elections, in turn devaluing the significance of local polls.”Added Sama Thapa of AP1: "Misinformation is not just fabricated news, it is also wilful ignorance and disproportionate coverage, even half-news that centres only on certain people, communities, and ethnicities.”During the second panel on Ethical and Responsible Journalism, editors and reporters from the print, online and broadcast medium discussed the responsibilities and roles of journalism in the age of unfiltered digital and social media.“Democracy is a behaviour as well as a way of life,” said Yuvraj Ghimire of Desh Sanchar. “But Nepali politics lacks accountability and our media reflects it.”“Unless political parties are responsible, how can we expect the media to be?” continued Prateek Pradhan of Setopati. “But that is not an excuse for those of us in this profession.”“As a profession that informs others, the media has to be informed itself. And for that, we need character and courage,” Ghimire noted.“Credible and truthful information must be celebrated and supported by the public,” said Pradhan.Prateek Pradhan delivered a rebuke of those he described were in the profession to eventually obtain political, diplomatic and other prestige positions.He said: “Journalism requires passion, and a belief that the work and the stories will have an impact on those who see it.”Meanwhile, journalist Sona Khatik, station manager of Radio Kapilvastu where she has worked for more than a decade, talked about the sustainability of radio in Nepal as media transitions to the digital.“Radio is not and has never been for those in the upper echelons of Nepali society. It is for the people who still do not have access to proper networks to have conversations, data connectivity for mobile internet, money to buy and watch television and channels that represent their communities,” she says. “It is for those who are unable to read and understand newspapers or access it on time. Radio is going to sustain.”If the media itself does not make space for Dalit, Madhesi, and marginalised people, how are they then going to represent those communities, asked Khatik. “Even then, there needs to be an understanding that it requires work to comprehend somebody’s story, not an hour-long phone conversation for a news story.”On the third panel of the day, Tomorrow’s Journalism, panelists Madhu Acharya, Arun Karki, and Sahina Shrestha spoke about how journalism at present is dominated by the reader’s trust in social media, and the need to integrate data in news.Madhu Acharya of the ShareCast Initiative shared results of the Nepal Media Survey 2022 that reflects the growing prominence of digital platforms in Nepal as the country becomes more connected through mobile networks and internet data. Indeed, the survey revealed that 41% of more than 5,000 respondents got their local news via Facebook, while the percentage of people who got their news from radio, tv, and newspapers stood at 25%, 4%, and 2% respectively.“Social media dominates news as well as  opinion formation,” said Acharya, “Traditional media needs to catch up.”“What does it mean when we say readers trust Facebook? It means they trust their friends and families, in short readers believe readers, and our newsrooms need to reflect that,” added Sahina Shrestha, Editor Online of Nepali Times. “This is why we need to involve the audience in content curation.” Arun Karki of the Centre for Data Journalism slliated the challenges to data storytelling, data’s role in debunking misleading information, and the need for data literacy in Nepal, which he emphasised should be a basic requirement in newsrooms.“It takes time to produce quality journalism, and we overlook such time-consuming stories in favour of speedy news,” Karki explained. “Nepal’s newsrooms need to be prepared to create data journalism in real-time.”Shrestha also spoke about the responsibility of the Nepali press to fact-check themselves. “Fact-checking should not be limited to fact-checking institutions, they should be brought into the newsroom,” she said. “We should be fact-checking our own stuff.”During the fourth panel, on the political economy of media, Ameet Dhakal, Aarti Chataut, Sudheer Sharma—prominent editors from Nepal’s traditional and digital media spaces—discussed how Nepal’s media grapples with the digital transition.Sudheer Sharma, editor of e-Kantipur, said that although digital media has reached the mass, print still sets the agenda when it comes to bureaucracy and policymaking.“Amid the changing media landscape, Nepal is on the path to an integrated media.” said Sharma."There is an ongoing paradigm shift in media, the means are changing, not the content or format," continued Aarti Chataut. "The medium is the message."“Digital media is a two-way traffic between content creators and readers,” said Ameet Dhakal of Setopati, adding that it had democratised the process of content creation.“Now, one media institution no longer controls the narrative, which has also kept the press in check,” Dhakal added. “Our mistakes are amplified, but that also means that our corrections are quick.”

Shristi Karki

Paradigm shift in Nepali media

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217149c7e80680e0ba9ccjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1136" height="1168"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The use of the social web has found a dominant <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/election-campaign-on-social-media,3712" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">role in campaigning for local elections</a>, especially as the countdown to the 13 May local elections ticks away.Wall posters have been replaced by Facebook posts, loudspeakers on jeeps by jingles, and soundbites from candidates on YouTube, and even <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/huge-uptick-in-tiktok-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTok</a> music videos.More than in the previous election in 2017, Nepal’s political parties, activists, and the general public have gone online to campaign or promote their preferred candidates. And like in elections of old, this new medium is also used for calumny, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-the-people-cannot-be-fooled-all-the-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fake news</a> and personal attacks.In April, a video went viral on social media of K P Oli and Bishnu Poudel of the UML apparently being chased out of Butwal by angry locals. The story of the video was that two leaders had gone to Butwal to inaugurate a view tower that had been built instead of a hospital.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217179c7e80680e0ba9cdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="698">But the watchdog group Nepal FactCheck flagged the video as being from a protest in March 2021 when then Finance Minister Poudel was laying the foundation of an industrial zone in Butwal.Another video showed Nepali Congress leader <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Policies-for-the-people,3640" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gagan Thapa</a> being harassed by crowds, interspersed with out-of-context clips of him poking fun at the government headed by his own party.Targeted content such as these show that Nepal is also suffering from the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/digital-discrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misuse of social media platforms</a> by political parties at election time to further their populist agenda. In the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections, only a quarter of Nepalis had access to the internet, and smartphone use was still very low. Things picked up in the 2017 federal elections, but in 2022 mobile telephony has changed the election landscape.Deepak Adhikari, editor of South Asia Check, sees an increased impact of social media on elections. Political parties have woken up to its power and are using it to the fullest for propaganda as well as slander on opponents.“Increased effort by parties to influence voters through social media in campaigning also means that there is a greater risk of the public getting false and misleading information,” says Adhikari, adding that political parties, activists, hate groups, foreign powers, as well as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/internet-in-everything/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital portals</a> are active participants in the process.Last July, UML leader Prabhu Sah set up the ‘IT Army’, after Mahesh Basnet of the same party and former disgraced Information Minister had announced plans to form a ‘cyber army’. These troll factories were designed to support Prime Minister K P Oli when he was under attack from Pushpa Kamal Dahal from within his own NCP in a power struggle.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital media landscape has changed dramatically</a> since 2017, with 65% of Nepalis connected to the worldwide web and 91% owning mobile phones, 65% of which are smartphones (see graph below). Parties are now delivering speeches and holding public meetings on Facebook Live, releasing election songs and campaign materials on YouTube, and lobbying on Facebook and Twitter.The Sharecast Initiative survey put the number of Facebook users in Nepal at nearly 13 million. Twitter and Instagram accounts are far fewer, but continue to grow. One-third of Nepalis now use Wi-Fi to access the net and 91% mobile internet. Half of Nepali mobile phone users have 4G services, while three-quarters of the population has access to some form of the internet. Nepalis are therefore <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">relying less and less on the mainstream press</a> for information.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217199c7e80680e0ba9cejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1898" height="816"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The two major parties have racked up a significant digital media following since the last election. The UML’s Facebook account has 357,000 followers while the Nepali Congress has 308,000. Independent mayorial candidate Balen Shah boasts 465,000 followers on Facebook.The Maoist Centre has lagged behind, and has even fewer followers on the platform than the newly-minted Unified Socialists.The UML has seven IT experts employed full-time at its headquarters in Kathmandu. The party’s official website contains a systematic documentation of its history in government and Parliament, other relevant documents, up-to-date information on party events, while its social media accounts regularly share interviews and live speeches.It has also launched a separate app for its cadre after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unconventional-party-conventions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">last year’s general convention</a>.“The app is designed so that communication among party cadres is centralised,” explains Bishnu Rijal, head of the UML’s publicity department. “More people on social media prefer to watch short videos or live speeches, to reading long content."The Nepali Congress is not as prolific but has also ramped up its social media campaigning as election day closes in. The party used to put up paid advertising on Facebook, but is now concentrating on its ‘Let’s go door to door’ voter campaign on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/press-for-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">social media</a>.The alternative Bibeksheel Sajha Party has 107,000 followers on Facebook and 35,000 on Twitter and also uses social media extensively for campaigning. Says IT expert Prakash Jha: “Use of social media has contributed significantly to the political success of Bibeksheel Sajha Party.”Rabindra Mishra (Bibeksheel Sajha), Baburam Bhattarai (JSP) and Gagan Thapa (NC) all prefer Twitter to Facebook, and have more than 1 million followers each. On the other hand, the UML’s K P Oli who is known for his pithy repartee, is popular on TikTok. His personal account has 17,000 followers, and his videos have received more than 1.2 million likes.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372171c9c7e80680e0ba9cfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Subash Adhikari, an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/reward-performance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">election</a> strategist for the NC in 2017, says  targetted Facebook advertising yielded dramatic results, especially as the NC reached out to Facebook consultants in India.“We took his advice to form our election strategy with Facebook at the centre,” Adhikari recalls. “We were able to target demographics in specific geographical areas.”Samriddha Ghimire, who has worked on Indian elections with noted strategist Prashant Kishore, says party leaders in Nepal have no idea or vision on how to conduct an effective <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Campaigning-in-cyberspace,864" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital election campaign</a>.“All they know is how to spend some money in order to boost Facebook posts,” says Ghimire. “There is no election strategy in general, and specially in using digital platforms.”No matter how much social media is used for electioneering in Nepal, Ghimire adds, much of the work is in vain without the collection and analysis of data on voters crucial to charting a strategy.Says Ghimire: “Statistics is the raw information that drives an electoral strategy, as it is planning on what kind of message to send to potential voters.”<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/social-movement-through-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Social media</a>, after all, he adds, is just a medium.“Prashant Kishore’s team chose to categorise their target voters from specific communities in a way that the election-related messages were catered to voter’s interests and opinions,” he remarks. “It is a successful exercise in influencing the vote.”Prakash Jha of GAMA Nepal agrees, adding that most of the candidates and parties lack even the basic skills to listen to voters, or even write up election manifestos.“Electoral and political communication in Nepal lack the professionalism required to influence voter behaviour,” says Jha.Because of this, electoral communication falls back on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-social-media-contagion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misinformation and fake news</a> to attack rivals, rather than to highlight the party’s election agenda.To this, adds Kundan Aryal at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Tribhuvan University: “Although social media has provided an opportunity for a two-way communication, dominance of certain groups has led to the misuse of the platform,”When social media is used as a propaganda tool to spread false information, it <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/online-trolls-bots-snoopers-imperil-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">threatens to undermine the very fabric of a liberal democracy</a>, he says.According to Madhu Acharya of Sharecast Initiative social media has been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/indias-new-social-media-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misused to spread misinformation</a> because mainstream media has not done enough to inform public opinion, making way for the likes of ‘reporters’ on YouTube to fill the information gap by making a mockery of serious public issues.“Not everything that one sees on the internet is to be believed,” Acharya says: “If media users consider their source of information, it could stop the spread of misleading and false content to a great extent.”

Election infowar goes digital

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372170e9c7e80680e0ba9cajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1057" height="700"/><figcaption>A S PANNEERSELVAN. Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>A S Panneerselvan is executive director of Panos South Asia, which fosters public debate in the region. He has been the Reader's Editor of The Hindu, and a strong advocate of ethical and responsible journalism. He teaches media studies at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. The following are excerpts from a recent conversation between him and Shekhar Kharel on the challenges facing old and new media.Nepali Times: As a frequent visitor to Nepal, what do you make of the mediascape here?A S Panneerselvan: In the 1990s Nepal set a standard for South Asian media when it came up with the finest decentralised media environment through its <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/radio-sagarmatha-the-radio-wave,3718" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">community radio revolution</a>. But the digital disruption has completely changed that. While it has given a voice to everyone, no one is actually listening. We have concurrent monologues, not dialogues. There is also no supporting revenue stream for this new model.With <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mobile connectivity</a> even in rural areas, the digital divide itself is an obsolete concept. But the global media is also extremely centralised. A handful of Silicon Valley multinationals control our information ecosystem. Governments can switch off connectivity as we saw in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021 when its special status was abrogated.Traditional media played an empowering role during Nepal’s People’s Movements I and II. But there are new questions today: Is the media going to get caught up in the social media cacophony, or play a leadership role?How are these changes going to affect the sustainability, credibility and independence of Nepali media? The Nepali media now has reach, but it needs revenue to survive. This is crucial because the media has a dual role: bearing witness and making sense. Bearing witness means journalists have to travel to gather news and that costs money. The budget to bear witness is shrinking. So, broadsheet publications retain their respectability by focusing more on making sense by writing editorials explaining a particular issue. Making sense has taken precedence over bearing witness. This is why the digital disruption is hurting us.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/internet-in-everything/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internet in everything</a>, EditorialHow does this revenue model then affect the digital media? When the Arab Spring happened, we thought the digital media would become an enabler. But <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ununited-states-of-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trump</a> and Brexit showed us that it is also a curse. Today, the trend is towards clickbait journalism since algorithms decide what is going to get amplified and what is not. Editorial judgment has no place in this environment, the content can be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/digital-discrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misogynist, ultra-nationalistic jingoism, war-mongering, spewing hate</a>. It does not matter, as long as it gets the reach. When you ask Silicon Valley companies to regulate such content, they say they are not a media organisation but purely a platform. Yet they want all the credibility and reach of media organisations. When it suits them they become a media organisation, when it doesn’t they become a platform. The fact that these trans-border organisations are not governed by conventional laws is causing further harm.The political economy of these platform companies is that they give money to the carriers, not the content generators. But carriers are not neutral. Whether they are ISP providers, DTH platforms or search engines, they are heavily loaded and discriminatory. And carriers have become so powerful that content companies are now dependent on them, and this is against the spirit of an independent media elsewhere and in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217119c7e80680e0ba9cbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="700"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>So what is the role of journalists in this new environment?Journalism is different from all other forms of communication because at its core is the act of verification. It is different from blogging or posts on social media with no filtration. This act of verification is mediated by editorial judgment — the two things that give journalism its credibility. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-social-media-contagion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Social media</a> is destroying this and denying citizens the democratic right for credible information.Whose responsibility is it to uphold the media’s credibility?It is the responsibility of citizens who have to invest in credible information that is the building block of democratic rights. People’s spending on media in the last 5-10 years has gone up, but the money is going to the carriers. We pay internet service providers, DTH companies and for mobile connectivity. Money spent on those creating content for media has gone down. Credible information is a public good, we must reinvest in it.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/press-for-people/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Press for people</a>, Sahina ShresthaBut will a public hooked on TikTok invest in credible information? People don’t think twice about paying IPSs or for DTH connections, why would they not also pay a part of it to news outlets that they trust? Trusted institutions need a certain amount of financial leeway. Since 2006 we have witnessed a huge squeeze on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-print-is-exaggerated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">traditional media model</a>. This is hurting us in two ways. One, the most credible information has become the most expensive, while the most salacious is the most accessible. For example in the UK, those who want credible information, say the Financial Times, have to pay, but the tabloid Daily Mail is free. Tabloidisation of news is the biggest challenge for us, and we don’t have a language to confront that. But we can’t expect the government to act either, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/gagging-the-press-in-installments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their response is censorship</a>. Silicon Valley corporations already account for 80% of digital revenue. If Facebook, Google and Twitter are going to take it all away, what is the role for professionals across the world working to produce credible information?Doesn’t this erode the independence of the press?We have to make a distinction between what was happening till 2010 and after. Until 2010, the mainstream media had its own problems, but were still largely independent. Post 2010, the ownership has gone over to big corporations who do not mind losing money as long as they prevent others from entering the field. The rules have changed in such a way that the political economy has become the corporate economy.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/digital-discrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digital discrimination</a>, JB BiswokarmaSo, is there a future at all for the printed media?Digital media is here to stay, and we have to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/internet-in-everything/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">negotiate our space within this new environment</a>. But digital platforms do not have a sustainable revenue model. We have a hybrid entity controlled by corporates, and whatever they give is what we receive. Large content generators have been reduced to an appendix. People often cite The New York Timesand the Financial Timesas examples of successful transitions, but they are only mimicking the Silicon Valley giants. The better model was that of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepali-radio-nepali-awaj,3728" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s community radios</a> which decentralised credible information produced by and for the people. But even that has been eroded with corporate takeovers.This is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/reward-performance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">year of elections in Nepal</a>. Three Ms are considered important for the polls: Money, Muscles and Media. Are there lessons from India?Back in the day, the media used to come up with difficult questions. Now it presents only easy answers. Social media like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/huge-uptick-in-tiktok-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTok</a> are leading this trend by producing content with simplified narratives which rob the reality of its complexities. The misuse of media is not new. During India’s emergency from 1975-77, the government controlled the media and yet the people eventually voted against Indira Gandhi. Recently we saw media manipulation in West Bengal, but the public voted against the BJP there. The thing is, the will of the people cannot be underestimated or manipulated beyond a point.

“All the people cannot be fooled all the time”

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637216cd9c7e80680e0ba9b3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1100" height="1269"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>The past two years have accelerated the trends already buffeting the media industry pre-Covid: migration of readers and advertisers from legacy to digital media, entertainment replacing information, a losing battle against fake content, and so on.Kitty videos went viral even as the virus shut society down. Social media became the new mass media.Till three years ago in Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3t8DpuKSKgqz-bOvPRD1R3">‘Facebook’ was synonymous with ‘Internet’</a>. But in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3CLJ3__F60u9ijYJAn_Bsz">2019 YouTube users overtook Facebook</a>, and now a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/huge-uptick-in-tiktok-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTok takeover</a> makes dance routines on the platform consume nearly a quarter of the country’s bandwidth.The power and reach of global digital platforms and online portals have transformed the way people stay informed, while <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3_LES6c-wOoyW5ET4vUl3F">some prefer to be deliberately disinformed</a>. Since digital content can be manipulated and multiplied, it is easier for populism to replace pluralism.As algorithms radicalise voters and confine them to echo chambers, elected demagogues across the world threaten democracies, and despots get voted to power.The print media in Nepal went fully digital during the 2020 lockdowns, and even though revenue plummeted, readership hit the roof. Newspapers like this one resumed print editions and reclaimed <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/readers-editorial,1059" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/readers-editorial,1059&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3UUu5VRVBiBEucIhJFjFPt">loyal hardcopy readers</a>, but there are many times more users online now for multimedia content. The economics of the media business has also changed, possibly forever.Nepal’s economy was just beginning to recover from the downturn caused by the pandemic when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ukraine-crisis-hits-nepal-economy-hard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the war in Ukraine</a> scored another direct hit on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-geopolitics-of-food/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fuel and food prices</a> worsening hard currency reserves and the country’s balance of payments.New restrictions on bank loans and imports have hit businesses hard, and this has had a direct impact on advertising -- the main source of revenue for media companies.Just when its role in safeguarding democracy and press freedom has become more vital than ever before, journalism struggles to survive and retain its relevance. This ends up <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/censuring-censorship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">undermining the independent check and balance role</a> of the fourth estate in defending democracy.Nepal’s media practitioners need to be more vigilant than ever -- especially at a time when we see the largest, oldest and most vibrant democracies in the region and around the world being dismantled by leaders who have co-opted democratic institutions to propel themselves to power and remain there.All this may look pretty discouraging for those who believe in an open society, and value tolerance, inclusiveness, and the freedom to express themselves. But the Internet has always been a double-edged sword, like all other technologies that preceded it.Fake news, disinformation and gossip did not begin with the social web. They are as old as the written word itself. Elon Musk calls Twitter the global ‘town square’, but town squares through history have also been violent places – unleashing lynch mobs, witch hunts, burnings at the stake and public hangings.There are equivalents of early newspapers inciting pogroms in Russia and Germany, later of radio in Rwanda sparking genocide. The only difference with online posts is their instantaneous amplification and global reach. And effect of this can be fast and brutal, as seen by the calls for mass killings of the Rohingya in Facebook posts, and lynchings in India triggered by WhatsApp groups.Cancel culture, trolling and cyber-lynching by bot armies also dampen voices calling for moderation, science-based decision making, and acceptance of diversity.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/dont-act-on-the-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Attempts to regulate Internet content</a> collide head on with accepted norms of free speech. Where does one draw the line? It might first be important to distinguish between ‘journalism’ broadly defined on the one hand, and on the other, posts inciting violence or troll factories manufacturing hate on assembly lines.These and other issues will be the subject of the day-long ‘Connectivity in the Age of Disinformation’ conference at the Himal Media Mela on 7 May, marking Himalmedia’s own 25th anniversary year. Media practitioners will be taking stock of the media’s role in these changed circumstances.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-print-is-exaggerated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">death of print media is exaggerated</a>. There is still power in print because the powerful read it. A survey in 2020 also showed that most Nepalis were not reading print media because <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3CLJ3__F60u9ijYJAn_Bsz">roadside shops had stopped stocking newspapers</a> and magazines.That survey by <a href="https://www.sharecast.org.np/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sharecast.org.np/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0zGgEqvlW8X0_WPVzK5j2c">Sharecast Initiative Nepal</a> revealed 96% of Nepalis had mobile phones, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3CLJ3__F60u9ijYJAn_Bsz">showed that</a> 94% of those following the mainstream press are still reading the paper newspaper because they found it more ‘trustworthy’. Although respondents said they used social media platforms, more than 90% said they did not believe everything in it.And that is the niche that Nepal’s mainstream press now need to fill: to be the credible source of news, present verified facts, correct online falsehoods, as well as to explain, interpret and analyse events and trends.Gazing into the future, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-new-reality-of-nepals-virtual-celebrities/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-new-reality-of-nepals-virtual-celebrities/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651624304899000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2KtE3bnQpem6LSBL3c-go4">social media</a> platforms will be useful dissemination tools, social media platforms will be even more entertainment-driven, and it will be the papers and their digital editions with credibility and exclusive content that will stay afloat.

Internet in everything

<figure><img width="1200" height="900" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c659c7e80680e0b7869jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MySansar</figcaption></figure>“What is this that you have posted?”“Who gave you the right to put this up?”“You think you can just write these things?”Those were the kind of questions fired at me in an intimidating tone by Deputy Superintendent Pradin Tamrakar at the <a href="https://old.nepalpolice.gov.np/index.php/cyber-bureau?start=3">Cyber Bureau</a>. I told him politely to first take a look <a href="https://www.mysan">at my write-up in Factcheck Nepal</a> about the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/">increasing prevalence</a> of fake news about the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mcc-gets-green-light-in-nepal/">Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project</a>.   But the officer would not listen. He kept on badgering me: “Why run a news portal without registering it? Who gave you the right to post such content?”"The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-contentious-constitution-day/">Constitution</a>,” I told him, this time more bluntly.He called me “conceited” and threatened to detain me. Realising that I would not be able to get through him, I started making calls on my mobile.He then tried to snatch my phone and confiscate it. He said I was not allowed to make a call.“Why not?” I asked, and managed to hold on to my phone. I made my calls anyway. Read more: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/in-nepal-beware-of-fake-news,2556">Beware of fake news</a>, Bhrikuti RaiThe day before this interlude, I had received a call from the Bureau asking me to pay them a visit to discuss a matter. I had recently written a blog post, about the increase in fake news and presumed they wanted to talk about it.  They told me to get to the Forensic Division by 4PM. But being on medication, I dozed off and was not able to make it.The next morning I got a call again from the Bureau, this time they told me to meet Umesh Shah at the Forensic Division. I went over, and Shah took me to DSP Pradin Tamrakar who had a printout of my blog article about fake news on his desk.Next thing I know I am being threatened with detention, and accused of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/online-trolls-bots-snoopers-imperil-democracy/">spreading disinformation</a>. What an irony: the writer of an article about fake news is being detained for propagating fake news.I tried telling him to at least read the article first before accusing me, and then determine if I was propagating falsehoods, or trying to make people aware of it. But it was like talking to a stone wall.The whole process was bizarre. Shouldn’t the interrogation officer at least be apprised of the case he is dealing with? Is threatening an innocent person and accusing them groundlessly how the Cyber Bureau conducts business?  <figure><img width="1536" height="2048" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c689c7e80680e0b786ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: MySansar</figcaption></figure>It was at this point that I started to lose my composure. I forgot everything I had learned at the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Vipassana-meditation-technique-for-post-disaster-psychological-recovery%20,2472">Vipassana</a> Camp about controlling anger. I was not even allowed to explain that I was the one trying to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium/">expose false news</a>. By coincidence, I had been studying cases where the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-crucible-of-fragile-coalitions/">courts had scrapped</a> groundless investigations that the police had fled. They are almost always after people <a href="about:blank">sharing fake content</a> online instead of catching real culprits responsible for creating them.But not even in my worst nightmare had I imagined that a DSP at an institution dedicated to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/crossborder-cybercrime-and-punishment/">fighting cybercrime</a> and protecting people would have such a low IQ. He had not even read the headline of my piece, let alone the article before wrongly accusing me.How does one rationalise this? They try to arrest a person actively helping to control disinformation but are unconcerned about those that are actually enticing violence with inflamed posts on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/face-to-face-to-counter-facebook/">Facebook</a>.You can only reason with people who are willing to understand. How does one go about explaining to these educated fools the difference between a news portal and a blog, and what fact-checking entails?Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-undermining-free-expression-hrw/">Nepal undermining free expression: HRW</a>, Nepali TimesThe police could have very well booked me under the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/scripted-arrest/">Electronic Transactions Act</a>, even though I would have been proven innocent in the courts. But as long as they get to harass us, what do they care? If not that, they could have sentenced me to 25 days for misbehaving.Fortunately, a few phone calls did the trick, and I was spared from being locked up.  In the meantime, another DSP Kailash Rai, made an entry. He seemed to have a better understanding of the matter, and tried to placate me while also defending the Bureau. He told me things got out of hand because both the parties involved were “getting worked up”.His quiet reasoning made me realise that I was in fact quite angry. I needed to cool down and ended up apologising to Pradin Tamrakar. But he was not sorry. He still has not apologised.Maybe it was his ego, but he once again told me I should have notified the Bureau what I was writing about. Seriously? So I am supposed to ask the police what I am writing about before I even start writing? The Bureau should have used my piece to catch real culprits. This was taking ‘blaming the messenger’ to new heights of absurdity.  Then Tamrakar started preaching to me about having my blog registered. I tried telling him that a blog is not a portal, and does not need to be registered. He did not understand the difference. <figure><img width="1207" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c6b9c7e80680e0b786bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: MySansar</figcaption></figure>But what is really bothering me is this perception that as long as your business is registered you can avoid being penalised even if you have committed a crime. But you are held accountable even if you are innocent if you are not registered. It is like it is ok to kill someone as long as your gun is licensed.When I asked the Bureau why they had decided to investigate me, they gave vague answers so I checked my file again. There was no mention of it being reported, but signatures prompting ‘action’.It seems a top official at the Bureau had read my blog article and made a copy ordering his employees to look into people responsible for increasing fake news. But DSP Tamrakar misunderstood this to mean that it was the writer who needed to be penalised. He was probably just trying to follow his superior's order blindly. But even that requires some background. If it is time-consuming to read the entire article, he could have at least read the headline and subhead printed in large bold letters. A small suggestion to the Cyber Bureau: I will make my services available to fight cybercrime. But at the very least, employ competent staff. Otherwise, they will discredit the entire police force.Again, I apologise to DSP Pradin Tamrakar, I have no animosity against you. The only reason I am publicly naming you is with the hope that you do some homework before pursuing future investigations.We are all eagerly waiting for the real purveyors of fake news and disinformation to be hauled in for questioning. Not people like me who were already exposing them.Salokya is the editor at NepalFactCheck.org, a joint initiative of the non-profit Center for Media Research Nepal (CMR-Nepal) and the Nepali language blog, <a href="http://mysansar.com/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank">MySansar.com</a>.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/">The message is the medium</a>, Editorial

Punished for fact-checking in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209cc9c7e80680e0b5563jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="828" height="936"/><figcaption>Photo: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>Historians have pointed out that the reason for Nepal’s political dysfunction is that although it is South Asia’s oldest nation state, it is also the newest to open up to the world.Another upheaval of similar magnitude is now buffeting Nepal with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-new-digital-landscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rapid spread of information technology</a>. This revolution is happening at lightning speed, much faster than changes since 1950.And once again, Nepalis are having to adapt to a hyper-real world of social media platforms, viral videos, disinformation and an alternate universe of premeditated fakery.At the beginning of the pandemic, there were about 8 million Nepalis with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/face-to-face-to-counter-facebook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a> accounts. Today, the figure is said to be close to 12 million. There are millions more posting videos on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/huge-uptick-in-tiktok-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTok</a>. Thousands of YouTube channels with sensational graphics vie for audience and Adsense revenue. Twitter trails, but has a following among opinion-makers and shakers. It is the preferred medium for political influencers and the media, and this amplifies its impact.The content on these platforms rides the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spread of mobile telephony</a>. Nearly all Nepali households now own at least one handheld device, and 60% of them now are smart-phones. The number of mobile cellular subscribers is now 43 million – more than the country’s total population.As Internet speed increases and cellular towers bring more parts of the country under at least 3G coverage, we can expect to see an even <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">greater consumption of social media platforms</a> – especially video-based content like YouTube and TikTok.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209cf9c7e80680e0b5564jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1092" height="586"><figcaption>Sharecast initiative 2019 Survey</figcaption></figure>The fact that 15% of Nepalis work, study or live abroad means that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-new-digital-landscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">connectivity</a> has allowed them to stay in close touch – a fact that was of vital importance during the pandemic.Most online content can be classified as ‘entertainment’, but it is also  ‘politics as entertainment’ with Nepal’s parties jostle for power.This migration of eyeballs from the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">'mainstream' to digital media</a> is having a profound impact on how Nepalis connect with each other. The influence of the legacy media in agenda-setting is now replaced by non-journalistic content providers.This has transformed how Nepalis access information, in how they communicate with each other, how society functions, and ultimately in how Nepal is governed.These media trends are not unique to Nepal. The reach of Big Tech globally has transformed the relationship between rulers and the ruled. Journalism has gone from vertical to horizontal.But it has also warped the democratic process as disinformation and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-truth-politics-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">propagators of ‘alternative truths’</a> manipulate the medium to stoke populism and intolerance.We have seen increasing evidence of what this means for news consumption. The filtering function of journalism is bypassed so that raw, unverified, deliberate disinformation sways public opinion. Algorithms allow biases to be reinforced in echo chambers with increasingly radical content.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209d19c7e80680e0b5565jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1017"><figcaption>Sharecast initiative 2019 Survey</figcaption></figure>It is not all negative. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/social-movement-through-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internet activism</a> has shown that it is a powerful medium to mobilise support for causes like caste- and gender-based violence, citizenship issues, and for making national heroes out of high achievers like Kulman Ghising, Sanduk Ruit or Mahavir Pun.But, as the organised disinformation campaign against the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/high-tension-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Millennium Challenge Corporation</a> (MCC) shows, it can also be an effective way to interfere in the political process, whip up populist hyper-nationalism, stifle rational voices and undermine economic progress.The preponderance of fake news about the Americans planning to build military bases in Nepal has polarised politics and society, even dividing families, friends and colleagues.With <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-deal-breaker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">elections around the corner</a>, this phenomenon of demonising political opponents through abuse of social media will have far-reaching consequences for our democracy. If countries with a long history of democracy and free press can have both so easily undermined, we in Nepal need to be on alert against such threats to our hard-won freedoms.Umesh Shrestha, editor of Nepal Fact Check tells us: "Media literacy has not kept pace with the spread of the Internet. People think the falsehoods on YouTube and TikTok videos are legitimate news, and it forms public opinion."Shrestha adds, "This increases responsibility for journalists. Just like when experts and the mass media helped quash rumours about Covid-19."Disillusionment against Nepal’s established parties and distrust of politicians is at an all time high. They deserve it, but we cannot let that translate into disenchantment with the democratic process itself.Nepalis value democracy and harmony. We have pulled back from the brink many times before. It is time for the silent majority to speak up and drown out the fake and phoney in the cybersphere.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-alchemy-of-angst/">The Alchemy of Angst</a>,  Elif Shafak

The message is the medium

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14a89c7e80680e0a998ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Sakar Pudasaini, founder at <a href="https://www.karkhana.asia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Karkhana</a> explores innovation, technology, education, and their social consequences in this new monthly column for Nepali Times.The recent release of the ‘<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/25/what-are-the-facebook-papers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook Papers</a>’ and public testimony by whistleblowers have drawn attention to the use of social media, specifically Facebook, as a tool of civic and <a href="https://qz.com/india/2088427/facebook-whistleblower-sophie-zhang-on-indian-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political</a> action.The ensuing firestorm has drawn much needed scrutiny and triggered a debate on how to regulate the social media giant. It has also made clear that the global governance of social media will deprioritise peripheral countries such as Nepal.Both technological and human resource solutions that regulate social media are unlikely to take local needs into account. Thus, it is incumbent on domestic actors to develop ‘herd immunity’ through social consensus on how they use Facebook and other social media to advance their agenda and, engage in contentious debate.Documents from Facebook whistleblowers show <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22743753/facebook-tier-list-countries-leaked-documents-content-moderation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">that the company does not treat all countries equally</a>. Tier 0 (higher priority countries) such as the United States and India get strong content moderation that includes algorithmic monitoring and ‘war rooms’. Facebook develops technology to proactively identify misinformation, falsehood and inflammatory content in these high-priority markets.These technological tools, built to understand local languages and local patterns of social media use, are supplemented by local moderators with contextual knowledge.However, in Tier 3 countries like Nepal, Facebook appears to make no proactive effort to identify and moderate polarising content. Instead, it relies on user reporting to identify problematic content. In a Tier 0/1 country, content inciting violence could be proactively removed by algorithms or moderators. In a Tier 3 country, significant challenges would have to be overcome before such action is taken.To begin with, enough local users would have to flag the content as a problem. Then, a moderator who is unfamiliar with the local context would have to make a decision to remove the content. Even if such a scenario comes to pass, it is unlikely to happen fast enough to prevent significant harm in rapidly-evolving situations.It is therefore important that countries like Nepal develop mechanisms to fend for ourselves. The most important domestic actors that need to buy into the need for self-regulation are <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Campaigning-in-cyberspace,864" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political parties</a>.There are three reasons:First, disinformation, untruths and polarising propaganda are most prevalent around elections when both emotions are elevated and the stakes are high. With political power and its benefits at stake, political partisans will be more willing to cross the line from political posturing to problematic polarising messaging during these times. This is particularly relevant to Nepal, where federal and local elections are due in early 2023.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14ab9c7e80680e0a998bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Second, political parties have the power to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/indias-new-social-media-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">amplify content</a>. Political leaders have massive followings on social media, but even more importantly, parties are nation-wide networks of people that can reshare and reinforce messaging. Recent research suggests that political influence on social media works differently from traditional advertising.In traditional advertising, messaging is carried to a large number of people by a celebrity they know and trust, which is why Nepal’s MaHa Jodi seem to be selling us everything from cement to water tanks. This is thought to drive sales by positive association with the trusted figures. Political influence on social media, however, appears to be more effective when information is (re)shared in small groups of trust, rather than by a widely followed influencer.Finally, political parties have the means and skills to craft effective messages. While it is easy to blame technology for causing the problems of disinformation, we have to remember that a human hand guides it. Political parties have skilled communicators with a deep understanding of the public's moods, desires and also prejudices.At their best, these people help advance democratic discourse by effectively representing the different streams of public sentiment in the national dialogue. However, this same skill in capturing public sentiment also allows them to construct rumours, disinformation and conspiracies that capture the public imagination and go viral.It may seem fanciful to imagine that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-new-digital-landscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">political parties</a>, especially in the heat of the battle for power, can be relied on for self-regulation. Yet, there are many examples of this in Nepal. The most obvious one is the peace process that some have poetically described as leading from the ‘bullet to the ballot box’.More encouragingly, political violence, such as ‘booth capture’, have steadily declined to the point where individual incidents are rare enough to be widely noted.This suggests that there are ways to cultivate consensus by making political forces understand the self-interest. Political violence diminishes their legitimacy to rule and increases the risk to their person and cadre. Thus, it is worth trading the momentary advantage of violence in one location to ensure advantages in the exercise of national power.Social media manipulation and polarisation through disinformation have similar, perhaps even more destructive consequences. Around the world we see what political scientists McCoy and Somer call <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328538486_Toward_a_Theory_of_Pernicious_Polarization_and_How_It_Harms_Democracies_Comparative_Evidence_and_Possible_Remedies_Forthcoming_in_a_Special_Issue_of_the_Annals_of_the_American_Academy_of_Political_and" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pernicious polarisation</a> -- an us vs them mentality where the drive to identify with your political tribe outweighs other sociopolitical considerations, the <a href="http://healthline.com/health-news/yes-some-people-are-getting-secretly-vaccinated-for-covid-19-heres-why#What-you-can-do-to-ensure-you-get-vaccinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">politicisation of masking and vaccination for example</a>.Pernicious polarisation fragments social and political structures so as to make nations impossible to govern, but also creates national security risks. Highly fragmented and polarised societies are primed by their own political leaders to believe disinformation and polarising propaganda are easy targets for manipulation by international powers.It is tempting to imagine there are technological solutions to technologically enabled problems. The Facebook Papers, however, make clear that countries like Nepal must not depend on faraway technological wizards to find us solutions because we are not their priority. Technological solutions, even if they can be found, will take a long time before they can be customised for the local context. Instead, we must face Facebook ourselves.While it is not possible to prevent all attempts to infect <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the social and political system</a> through social media manipulation, a ‘herd immunity’ that protects us from the worst of it, can be achieved by building a self-regulation consensus among key actors, chief among them political parties, with the skills and resources to mount large scale manipulation campaigns.Fortunately, this is possible in the most low tech way through face-to-face conversations over countless cups of chia and many plates of samosa.Sakar Pudasaini, Founder at Karkhana, explores innovation, technology, education, and their social consequences in Makeshift, a new monthly column in the Nepali Times. The name Makeshift gestures to the tenuous uncertain nature of new ideas and initiatives as well as their potential to drive profound change.

Sakar Pudasaini

Face-to-face to counter Facebook

<figure><img width="1830" height="1178" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181112/636be02e9c7e80680e083ddejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Many precincts that have the highest proportion of Covid-19 cases also voted for Trump.</figcaption></figure>America’s turmoil over the past four years and this messy election are a lesson in how to dismantle a functioning democracy in a few easy steps. This is an important warning for Nepal and countries in the region which are grappling with making their own electoral systems free and fair, and deliver accountability.Foreign policy experts say that the chaos that has followed this election is more reminiscent of the banana republics to which America used to lecture about freedom, democracy and human rights.America has projected hard power through its global military might, but also its value system through technology and US cultural products. But four years of Trump has cost America this moral high ground globally.“The US is divided like never before. This will have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world and for South Asia that looks up to the United States as a beacon of democracy with proper separation of powers and moral authority to guide other countries on matters of electoral politics,” says Nishchal Pandey, Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies in Kathmandu. “Despite his poor handling of the pandemic and several erroneous decisions, President Trump has shown that his policies were admired by a substantial chunk of the population.”Indeed, the US election results so far prove how little facts matter even in a democracy in which the media has been relentlessly investigating Donald Trump’s wrongdoings. Even if Joe Biden wins, the results have shown that Trumpist disenchantment with the establishment is strong and he has managed to successfully convince his base that the ‘liberal press’ is out to get him with ‘fake news’. <figure><img width="640" height="969" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181112/636be0319c7e80680e083ddfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Pandey adds that US voters have repeatedly shown that very few understand how electoral colleges work, and why the popular vote does not determine the winner.He told Nepali Times: “It is high time that the US introspects on the shortcomings of how its elections are conducted because its democracy instead of becoming an element of its soft power is becoming a travesty of sorts to telecast live all over the world.”For many Nepalis there is a strong sense of irony about an America that has been supporting human rights, inclusion and democracy in the country's post-conflict transition. Many remember former <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Hopeful,299" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Hopeful,299&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFGrC8Q-KWicSzjuisoDwqtEONOTw">US president Jimmy Carter’s</a> multiple visits to observe elections here. It seems the services of his Carter Centre are now required more in his own home state of Georgia where the race is neck-to-neck, and there is deep disagreement about counting methods. <img width="1667" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181112/636be0339c7e80680e083de0jpeg.jpg" alt="">A possible Biden victory may also be good news to those applying for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/The-ugly-american-donald-trump,3520" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/The-ugly-american-donald-trump,3520&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604712623216000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHogGNpB4R8t2Pmk0RwO7w1KXx0TA">H-1B visas</a> who were barred from entry into America by Trump in June, which would affect up to 50,000 Indian professionals, and some Nepalis. A US court subsequently overturned the decision last month. Trump also banned the US <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17620" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D17620&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604712623216000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH57Yz28UPfsuHkPQowQQafbtrFdQ">Diversity Visa (DV)</a> lottery, and interviews for 2021 winners were suspended, citing Covid-19. Applications, however, have reopened for 2022. Many undocumented Nepalis in the US were also affected by Trump trying to end the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/temporary-protection-nepalis-in-trumps-us,4067" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/temporary-protection-nepalis-in-trumps-us,4067&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604712623216000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE03jjUg8BD1eDQVV2xg-ONACLy7A">Temporary Protected Status (TPS). </a>On Wednesday, even as Americans were voting, the United States formally left the Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2015. In the past four years, Trump has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bypassing-trump-on-climate-action/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bypassing-trump-on-climate-action/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHdelwmaAN_gDopS7otGmQzDhf8XA">delayed action on the climate emergency</a>, and overturned other environmental legislation, appointed an oil lobbyist to head the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Biden has said he would get the US back into the Paris accord the day after he is inaugurated, if elected. <figure><img width="640" height="638" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181112/636be0379c7e80680e083de1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Four more years of Trump would unleash so much damage to the Planet, environmentalists say, that it would take decades to undo. Nepal's Himalayan mountains, which are already melting rapidly, will bear the direct impact of accelerated climate heating -- endangering the water supply to millions of people living downstream in India and Bangladesh as well.Geopolitically, the only difference for Nepal between Trump or Biden would be that at least Biden knows where Nepal is, and will not <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/classified-top-secret/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/classified-top-secret/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFcGXBYk_4UZySIq8M8DujULx1LLA">pronounce it “Nipple”.</a> Neither president is going to stomach China extending its military, economic and political clout in Asia – even though Biden’s approach may be less aggressive. Last week in New Delhi, American and Indian foreign and defence officials signed a Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/covid-19-and-the-new-great-game/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/covid-19-and-the-new-great-game/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEwdb3kIPFD0yxuFBj-IRElTAUupw">pact </a>seen by many as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/covid-19-and-the-new-great-game/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/covid-19-and-the-new-great-game/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEwdb3kIPFD0yxuFBj-IRElTAUupw">a military alliance</a> aimed at containing China. A Biden presidency would likely give continuity to this strategic alliance that has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/from-mt-everest-to-the-indian-ocean/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/from-mt-everest-to-the-indian-ocean/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH6ws6_4UtO66t386Uyh9kjDfEr3g">caught Asian countries like Nepal in a bind</a>. Biden will also likely stay the course on the Indo-Pacific strategy and QUAD naval exercises in the Indian Ocean this week. “It appears that Biden will largely follow the Trump approach to China and therefore to the Indo-Pacific in as much as this is a structural feature of current international politics and therefore has garnered bipartisan support in the United States,” says <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Repeating%20,110" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Repeating%2520,110&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGxjUh4EKyVRxx-HKtIwWMWV9DGbw">Bhaskar Koirala</a> of the <a href="http://www.niiss.org.np/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.niiss.org.np/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604666072196000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGOP3CNXeRaQ_p-YwPWbhrrYMZziA">Nepal Institute of International and Strategic Studies</a>. “Under a Biden administration, the US can be expected to play an increasing role as an off-shore balancer in Asia.”For Nepal, a Biden administration may place a greater emphasis on development and programs such as the MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) infrastructure project as a counter to China’s BRI (Belt Road Initiative). Koirala adds: "Biden may have a more general foreign policy objective to ensure that Nepal is stable politically and that it retains its independent identity."

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