<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

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Face-to-face to counter Facebook

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111120/636cd0ed9c7e80680e08f883jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The Year of Covid hit economies hard, and none more so than the <a href="http://v" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">media business which depends mainly on advertising</a>. With sales down and many businesses going belly-up, the media’s main source of revenue dried up as well.When the lockdown went into effect on 24 March, most legacy media in Nepal stopped their print editions. Nepali Times and Himal Khabarpatrika were one of the first to stop printing in early March, and went fully digital. National broadsheets like Nagarik, Kantipur, Kathmandu Post and The Himalayan Times also halted hardcopies, and terminated their other magazines.Among the broadsheets, only Naya Patrika and Annapurna Post continued to print much slimmer versions of their papers, mainly surviving on government notices.However, within ten days Nepal’s largest-circulation newspaper Kantipur resumed printing after it found out that it was losing market share. “We panicked prematurely, and pausing print production was a near-fatal decision,” admits Mahesh Swar, Assistant General Manager at Kantipur Media Group. “We did lose some confidence of our readers, but we have won most of it back. Resuming print was the best decision we made.”Although it was a question of visibility in the market and a presence in the corridors of power in Singha Darbar, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/media-muzzle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">media</a> as a business has struggled to survive in the past ten months as Nepal’s economy flatlined during the March-July lockdown. The prognosis for 2021 is looking only slightly better.A handful of digital-only portals with lower overheads rode out the crisis, but even they had to cut costs as new sites diluted online readership. Print media found it difficult to get existing companies to switch advertising to their online editions. While page views of their digital editions hit the roof, revenue crashed.Back in April, Shiva Gaunle of the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) told this paper that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-locked-down-nepal-print-is-still-king/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the resumption of hardcopy</a> was prompted by competition, and the fear of losing a paper’s footprint.“It is true digital media has even more reach during the lockdown, but the publishers seem to have decided that not having a printed newspaper has reduced their clout,” Gaunle says. “In that respect, print is still king.”A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survey earlier this year</a> by Sharecast Initiative showed that only 7% of a nationwide sample regularly read print media, while the proportion of people who got their information from online media had grown, but only to 16% by October.“It has been a challenging year for publishers, but they should keep in mind that the readership has not decreased. It's just that the news sources have shifted to the digital platform,” says Madhu Acharya of Sharecast. He adds that the real reason there are not more readers of print is because publishers have not invested in efficient nationwide distribution. “Most respondents in our survey said they would read newspapers if they could buy them easily.”<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/journalism-is-not-a-crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Journalist Namrata Sharma</a> believes that older people prefer a physical newspaper because they are in the habit of reading them with their morning cup of tea. “Newspapers are just much easier to read, the letters and pictures are bigger and they do not have to squint into phones,” she says.https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR0YfYL0plBNnqDQvITBvW-S4pcOYeQcS2cHoedcDtVArHADUyro3G8y4Tk&amp;v=r6UdpJ-UC_Y&amp;feature=youtu.beThe Sharecast survey shows that the readership of news portals is not much higher, and most people with smartphones use the internet <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/nepals-new-digital-landscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for entertainment, to connect to family and friends and to watch or share video content</a>. Some 80% of respondents in the survey are on Facebook, with the total number of Nepalis with the app at nearly 9 million. YouTube and TikTok are spreading rapidly as well. Three years ago, only 1% used YouTube, that has grown to 57% in 2019.Acharya says print readership can grow if newspapers and magazines are more readily available to subscribers and in news-stands because of greater literacy levels. Print’s advantage is its shelf-life, and the size of images, which has an edge over a mobile phone screen.“Print newspapers are not going to die because it is something physical that stays with you, there are things you can do with design and use of space on the page that is much more powerful than looking at a small screen,” says Amar Gurung, CEO at Himalmedia, which is resuming the print edition of Nepali Times every Friday from 1 January.Even ad agencies feel that print is a more credible source of information for the public, but they say that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-crackdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">legacy media</a> has to re-invent itself to be more appealing to advertisers and readers."Print publications have a more loyal readership, and they perceive them as more credible than online," says Ujaya Shakya of Outreach Nepal, and author of Brandsutra.He adds that print readers do not usually multitask when they read a magazine or newspaper, making them more receptive to ads in those publications.However, Shakya says the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">penetration of digital media is growing</a> faster, and it will gain momentum when it is integrated with print, tv or radio."The biggest challenge for marketers now is the attention span of the digital audience," Shakya adds. "How many times will they click on the banner ad while browsing social media or a site? That is the key question."The print media as it existed 10 years ago is dead. But the content and role of newspapers have changed. Ironically, what appears to have saved print is the proliferation of digital portals, where both news and advertisement tend to be drowned out by the cacophony. To stand out from the crowd, advertisers now prefer a printed paper page.“Print media still helps to create certain level of credibility in communications. With excess noise in digital, and its unregulated content, many people are not sure how much they can trust it. Print provides trust,” says Punam Singh of the Golchha Group which is the distributor of Bajaj motorcycles.It may be a question of time before print is trending again, just as people get tired of digital sound and vinyl record shops are becoming fashionable. Physical newspapers are tactile, their influence is less ephemeral than digital, much like e-books never really took off as people preferred to turn physical pages. The sale of printed books worldwide doubled last year.“A newspaper in your hand is much more real than digital words on a monitor. There is more trust and credibility in a physical paper in this age of fake news,” says Amar Gurung. “Readers of print also tend to read longer articles and are less distracted, whereas online readers prefer shorter items or videos.”This may be the reason why despite the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">growth of digital readers</a>, many advertisers in Nepal still prefer ads in print. Indeed, across the world there is a return to print advertising by companies who are turned off by the over-saturation of online, and people disabling ads because they feel pursued by algorithms.“Traditional media's major source of revenue has been ads. But now, we have to think out of the box to generate revenues from other sources as well,” says Gurung.To be sure, there are caveats to print. The content and production values have to be of extremely high quality, there has to be visibility and efficient distribution that makes the media brand stand out. In the end it will be the advertisers who have the last word.Says Prasun Timilsina of Karyala Advertising Inc., “For advertisers, it mostly depends on the audience. While products for youth are usually on digital media, it still makes sense to advertise in newspapers because they are tactile and there is greater retention of content that people see in print. A newspaper is also shared by the entire family, as opposed to digital media which is individual.”

The death of print is exaggerated

Sahina Shrestha, Digital Products Strategist<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77e29c7e80680e064662jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2208" height="1562"/>As the results of the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Sharecast Initiative Nepal Survey 2020</a> featured in this issue show, Nepal is going digital in a big way. There is a dramatic increase in ownership of mobile devices, a vast amount of video content is being uploaded on YouTube and Facebook, and internet use is set to grow further with demand for smartphones and data plans.Following this trend, Nepal’s media companies are also opening up to the use of digital tools in storytelling. There has been an explosion of news and entertainment portals and YouTube channels. It is fair to say that the Nepali Times was one of the pioneers of online journalism in Nepal. It was ahead of the pack in 2000 when it started a digital edition even before making a splash with its first print copy. Over the years, even as the hardcopy version took precedence, we made sure to experiment with data visualisation, audio-visual content and interactive graphics. After the 2015 earthquake, Nepali Times adopted a digital-first policy, uploading content online before a version appeared on Friday in print. Today, as more of our audience meet us online, we are rethinking not only our product but also our business model. Journalism worldwide is increasingly dependent on and being influenced by the likes of Facebook, Google and Twitter. These are no longer ‘just platforms’ for our content. On the one hand we compete with them for audience and ad revenue, and on the other we rely on them for technologies and dissemination.With shrinking budgets and revenue pressures, ‘legacy’ newsrooms like that of Nepali Times are being forced to think innovatively with the resources we have. As a traditional news organisation seeking innovation, growth opportunities and sustainability, we will continue to explore new platforms to distribute content and grow audiences. We will continue to work around the algorithms and experiment with social- and mobile-optimised formats that are shareable and quick to ingest.I am glad to be back at Nepali Times in this new position just as the paper marks its millennial milestone and am looking forward to streamlining a new media strategy for the future.Sonia Awale, Associate Editor<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77e69c7e80680e064663jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2032" height="1480">Welcome to this 1000th print edition of the Nepali Times weekly that also celebrates the 8 March International Women’s Day. It has been a two-decade long journey, during which my predecessors who have transitioned through this newsroom have witnessed history first-hand: the war, the 2001 palace massacre, the royal-military coup of 2005, restoration of democracy, a prolonged political transition, the earthquake, the Blockade and finally federal elections in 2017.The earthquake struck on my first week as an intern at the Nepali Times five years ago. Reporting on the aftermath of the disaster was like being thrown off the deep end. In 2017, after completing my master’s in digital journalism, I returned to the paper with a focus on covering health, environment and the climate crisis.Unlike other newsrooms, the Nepali Times does not have much hierarchy, and we are not rigid about beats. I was involved in the team that redesigned the online edition of the Nepali Times, which has seen a three-fold increase in reader numbers in the last three years. We have tried to bring the newsroom and the audience closer, refined our multimedia content and come up with original, in-depth coverage of a Nepal outside Kathmandu.    For the past two decades, the Nepali Times newsroom has pursued context and process, rather than simply covering events. This gives the hard copy edition a longer shelf-life, and the archives impart research value to Nepal-related topics that will be useful into the future.Every week,<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> www.nepalitimes.com</a> has more than 100,000 unique visitors, most of whom have bookmarked the homepage and begin browsing there, instead of clicking on story links on social media. The average reader spends five minutes per page, which is remarkable in an age of short attention spans.  Nearly half of the Nepali Times’ readership online is women, mostly in the 25-34 age group. Contrary to common perception, more than 80% of readers are Nepali, and 35% reside in Nepal. Most diaspora readers work and study in the United States, India, the UK, Australia and the Gulf, in that order.Thank you, readers for being with us the past 1,000 times. We in the Nepali Times  newsroom look forward to the next 20 years of making sense of the three-pronged crises of democracy, media and climate that Nepal and the world face today – and trying to find solutions.Alisha Sijapati, CorrespondentStarting when I was six years old, my grandmother had me read the headlines from the Nepali newspapers out loud to her every morning. She enjoyed hearing me read the news and as I became a better reader, I read whole articles to her. My interest in journalism developed from this morning practice that we still share.My career as a journalist started with internships first at The Himalayan Times and then at Himal Southasian. The journey of a trainee journalist is not always rosy, but these experiences taught me a lot. Later, as a full-time reporter at The Kathmandu Post, I was on the culture beat, but also had the opportunity to do business reporting and some investigative stories.Leaving a large daily for the smaller newsroom of the Nepali Times has been a big change for me. This place is a breath of fresh air. There is a calmness here even during frantic deadline pressure, and as media becomes faster paced the way our newsroom operates has lessons for everyone.In preparation for this 1000th issue of the Nepali Times, my colleagues and I flipped through the archives of the paper, and I got a glimpse of its underlying philosophy of 'solution journalism'.This means not limiting ourselves to a description of the problem, but looking beyond the current difficulty and searching for answers. It may take the form of analysis or profiles of people who have overcome obstacles despite tremendous odds. The Nepali Times has consistently and doggedly pursued issues that matter, always holding out for a better future and suggesting how we might get there.After seven years in journalism, there are some important understandings that I take with me from one newsroom to another. I believe that we journalists work for our readers and viewers and that we must be accountable to and sensitive towards those we write about even as we strive to uncover wrongdoings through honest and unbiased reporting.Monika Deupala, Photojournalist<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77e99c7e80680e064664jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1985" height="1330">Two years ago, during my internship at the Nepali Times, my editor told me: “You have the eye to see things others don’t.” That was the first time anyone had recognised my passion for photography.Soon, I was a Nepali Times staffer, but while shooting events I saw how few of us women were out there taking pictures. This is a problem. In a competitive field, the gender gap manifests in people not taking women as seriously. I am still not very confident in crowds.There are advantages, too: being women gives us access that many male colleagues would find difficult. But it will take time to make people understand that female photographers are good on their own merit, and not because of their gender.Back in high school, I was part of a class group that monitored the daily newspapers. We had to arrange them in rows before morning assembly. I was not much of a reader, but was intrigued by the photographs. I told my teacher I wanted to be a photojournalist, and he frowned, asking if I thought it was a profession for a woman. But I pursued my goal. I took a media course in college, bought my first DSLR, and honed my camera skills during class assignments.The last two years at the Nepali Times have been a journey of self-exploration for me. I understand my abilities now beyond limitations, and have more confidence travelling alone to new places and talking to strangers I am photographing. This paper has shown me what true professionalism is.Sanghamitra Subba, Reporter<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77ec9c7e80680e064665jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2376" height="1493">Fresh into my first job, I entered the welcoming, sunny and dog-filled newsroom of the Nepali Times. I came in as an intern, bright-eyed and ready to learn from the editors and reporters whose work I had admired as a student rifling through the colourful newspaper every Friday in the library.Into my first week, I was invited to join a journalism dialogue between graduate students from India, Pakistan and Nepal. Those three days provided a crash-course in crossborder journalism, and fired my interest in reporting. This was the first of many amazing opportunities that I have had working at Nepali Times.With the freedom to pursue the topics that I wanted to and the generous encouragement of newsroom colleagues, I covered everything from community homestays in Panauti to multiethnic marriages. At every step, I received the generous guidance of seniors, who taught me everything they knew about being an effective interviewer, editing videos and most importantly, maintaining composure during even the most challenging assignments.This women-dominated newsroom has been both a source of inspiration and a reliable support system. While my peers struggle to find their footing in other jobs, I have a positive work environment that has helped me grow as a multimedia reporter, and as a woman finding my way in the world.

Newswomen

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95ad9c7e80680e05dc1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="629" height="420"/><figcaption>Photo: ERICK KABENDERA/IPS</figcaption></figure>Using armies of online fans, trolls and, automated ‘bots’, the world’s authoritarians and populists are increasingly using the web to drown out opponents and swing public opinion and elections their way, a new study says.<a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018">The Freedom on the Net report</a>, compiled annually by Freedom House, a US government-funded research group, confirms the fears of many online activists and paints a bleak portrait of how the internet is straining democracies.The 32-page document, released earlier in November and titled <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018">The Crisis of Social Media</a>, found that more than half of the world’s 3.8 billion web users live in countries that censor the internet and use pro-government trolls to manipulate the online realm.Freedom House President Mike Abramowitz warned of online propaganda and disinformation spreading ahead of elections in 24 countries. The group assesses web freedom in 65 countries that host 87 percent of the world’s webusers.“Governments are finding that on social media, propaganda works better than censorship,” Abramowitz said in a statement. “Authoritarians and populists around the globe are exploiting both human nature and computer algorithms to conquer the ballot box, running roughshod over rules designed to ensure free and fair elections.”Researchers found that officials had worked with celebrity yes-men, business titans and semi-autonomous “online mobs” to spread clickbait, conspiracy theories and misleading memes from “marginal echo chambers to the political mainstream”.The report spotlights Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential election win in October 2018 was preceded by misleading news, anti-gay rumours and doctored images being spread by the right-winger’s fans via YouTube and WhatsApp, researchers said.In Egypt, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi blocked some 34,000 websites to stifle debates about whether el-Sisi should be allowed to hold power until the end of 2030 ahead of an April referendum, the report said.Hundreds of thousands of online trolls spread fake news to swing voters behind two main parties in April-May elections in India this year, it added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘NaMo’ app was reportedly relaying users’ data to a private analytics firm.The world’s two biggest economies — the United States and China — come in for special scrutiny. In the US, much like in the 2016 presidential election that brought Donald Trump to power, online trolls spread “disinformation” during the November 2018 mid-term vote and during the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.Meanwhile, US immigration officials are increasingly demanding access to the mobile phones and laptops of visitors and snooping on immigrants’ social media feeds, operating with “little oversight or transparency”, the report says.China remains the “world’s worst abuser of internet freedom” — a title it has held for four consecutive years, and where a phalanx of online commentators known as the 50 Cent Army pushes government messages online.Beijing clamped down harder on web users ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on 15 April and got tighter still in the face of ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong, the report says.Adrian Shahbaz, the group’s research director for technology and democracy, warned that even governments of smaller economies can now afford large-scale “advanced social media surveillance programs”.Last month, Facebook sued NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, for using the WhatsApp messaging service to hack the phones of some 1,400 dissidents, journalists, diplomats, officials and others for their clients, understood to be governments and spy agencies.“Once reserved for the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies, big-data spying tools are making their way around the world,” said Shahbaz. “Even in countries with considerable safeguards for fundamental freedoms, there are already reports of abuse.”Researchers noted that officials in 47 countries, armed with such sophisticated web-snooping tools, had arrested web users between June 2018 and May 2019 for posting political, social or religious messages online.“The future of internet freedom rests on our ability to fix social media,” said Shahbaz.“Since these are mainly American platforms, the US must be a leader in promoting transparency and accountability in the digital age. This is the only way to stop the internet from becoming a Trojan horse for tyranny and oppression.” (IPS)

Online trolls, bots & snoopers imperil democracy

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56e29c7e80680e0547adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="439"/>The surest sign that Nepal has already become an online society is the spreading practice of ‘digital detox’, where <a href="Nepal%20is%20becoming%20a%20nation%20of%20net%20addicts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addicted users</a> completely abandon connected devices, or at least take steps to drastically limit their online time.When checking, then rechecking, devices becomes such a daily distraction that it starts to disrupt our work, sleep or relationships, it is time to take a step back and evaluate the benefit of clicking yet another link to reveal the umpteenth bit of information for the day and ask: ‘Is it really necessary?’To be sure, there are many benefits also of the digital world for Nepal. The internet has democratised information flow, levelled the playing field, and in many cases turned citizens into actors and content providers themselves. #occupywallstreet morphed into <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2013/04/06/solidarity-for-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#occupybaluwatar</a> and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-women-take-to-media-to-expose-abuse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Metoo movement</a> encouraged long suppressed revelations about sexual assault in Nepal.Whether we see <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing digitalisation</a> as positive or negative, one thing is sure: it is both, and Nepal will be even more digitised in the coming decades. A recent survey showed that 90% of Nepalis now own mobile devices, with half of them producing smartphones when asked, 95% of households have mobile phones for an average 2.5 devices per home<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">, 88% of us use Facebook frequently</a>, and a whopping 8.5 million Nepalis are on the platform today. 45% are on messenger, 35% use IMO for instant messaging and 34% are regularly on YouTube.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32527&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> So, you want to quit Facebook?,</a> Reeti KC <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32537&amp;preview_nonce=96e6eb44eb&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal’s new digital landscape,</a> Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32431&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Message is the Medium</a>, EditorialThese trends already have a major impact on where Nepalis get their information, what information they believe, and how that affects the trust between individuals and the institutions at the heart of a democratic society, including media and government.The survey found most Nepalis still consider mainstream media as generally reliable, as opposed to information on the Net, which very few believed. But as recent cases of Rabi Lamichhane, protests against heritage destruction, violence against women and corruption have shown: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/social-media-and-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media content is now driving mainstream media coverage</a>. It is setting the agenda, and with it the potential for manipulation is growing.The Nepali Net is affecting politics because the young middle-class is now wired. Half of Nepal’s population is under 21, and this networked youth bulge will have huge political implications in the 2022 general election. Where new voters get their information, how they get it and what kind of information it is, will determine who rules Nepal and how in future. If the information is correct and credible, exposes wrongdoing, is fair to all concerned, and lets voters make up their own minds, the New Media will strengthen Nepal’s fragile democracy.If not, expect to hear more cries of ‘fake news’ and the growth of a digital media landscape that is likely to fuel the ‘digital detox’ trend.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis are drifting to digital media</a>, Madhu Acharya and Bhumiraj Chapagain<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's changing media landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New news</a>, Editorial

Digital detox

<img width="1400" height="934" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56f99c7e80680e0547b5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Nepalis are now increasingly in control of the media content they consume thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices, better internet connectivity and new media platforms. A survey conducted in 2018 showed that 90% of Nepalis now own mobile devices, with half of them producing smartphones when asked. 95% of households have mobile phones, for an average 2.5 devices per home. Nearly everyone uses mobile phones to access the internet.  These results are from the Nepal Media Survey 2019, which queried 4,129 respondents in 42 districts. A summary of the survey, conducted by Sharecast Initiative, was published in this paper in April, and is now available in book form.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32527&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">So, you want to quit Facebook?</a>, Reeti K.C.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32425&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital detox,</a> Nepali Times  With 88% of respondents using Facebook frequently, it comes as no surprise that 8.5 million Nepalis are on the platform today, while 45% are on messenger and 35% on IMO for instant messaging between friends and relatives. YouTube is also popular, with 34% using it on a regular basis. Twitter has a much smaller following in Nepal but influencers, academics and movers and shakers are progressively using it to wield power online. This trend is only likely to rise with affordable 3G and 4G services and expansion of broadband Wi-Fi service across the country.Eyeballs are shifting to online media at a rapid pace. Nepalis are now using Facebook not only to connect with near and dear ones but increasingly as a source of news and information. While very few trust social media content, networking sites are no longer confined to personal sharing but are being adopted by politicians and activists for their campaigns. This has larger implications for Nepali society, politics and development. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32431&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The message is the medium</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook nation</a>, Madhu Acharya Radio continues to be the main source of local information, with 49% tuning in regularly for news bulletins, but tv is catching up. Surprisingly, 58% said they consider neighbours and friends as a key source for local news and information. This number falls considerably when it comes to national and international news, where tv is preferred.  Tv is the most accessed form of mass media in Nepal, with 60% of households owning a set, whereas only 28% of households have a functioning radio. But more people listen to radio on their phones than on a radio set.  Legacy media continues to hold its own against online portals for now, but newspaper readership in Nepal is fast shrinking and is limited to major centres. Distribution is a major hurdle — 59% of respondents said they did not read newspapers and magazine because they were not available in their area.  With alternative methods to access news, publication houses lamenting the decline of traditional print media might want to invest in better online and multimedia content to hold the interest of readers whose attention span is declining by the day. This is further proven by the fact that Nepalis are ambivalent about the content of all forms of mass media.  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/face-to-face-with-facebook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Face-to-face with Facebook</a>, Nepali Times<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis are drifting to digital media</a>, Madhu Acharya and Bhumiraj Chapagain The good news is that Nepali media is generally reliable. Among the respondents who regularly accessed tv, radio and newspapers, most trusted the content. And although most get their information on the Net, very few trust it.   Notable points:<ul><li>The 16-24 age group and those with Bachelors degrees are the heaviest consumers of all types of media</li><li>Newars have the highest access to all media except radio, whereas Tarai Dalits have the least access</li><li>Women lag behind in access to all media</li><li>As expected, media saturation is highest in Province 3 while mobile is least accessed in Province 5.</li></ul>Nepal Media Survey 2019 National Survey on Nepali Media Landscape Sharecast Initiative Nepal Rs1,000 (Institutional)Rs500 (Individual)Pages: 50Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal’s changing media landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative

Sonia Awale

Nepal’s new digital landscape

<figure><img width="1500" height="1038" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56b79c7e80680e05479ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: SHARECAST INITIATIVE NEPAL</figcaption></figure>There was a time until recently when we wrote editorials in this space about how the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4271#.XXDRyy4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global digital divide was mirrored within Nepal.</a> Just like the haves and have-nots, we said Nepal had the ‘knows’ and ‘know-nots’, because access to the internet here was so skewed.How fast things have changed. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19399#.XXDSVC4zbIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Till 2012</a>, we were reporting that there were 1.4 million Nepalis on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Facebook</a>. Today the figure is nearing 8.5 million. The number of Twitter users is much lower, but it has a following among the intelligentsia, media and political influencers, which magnifies its impact. In April, Nepali Times printed the results of a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sharecast Initiative survey</a> that showed:<ul><li>96% of Nepali households own a mobile</li><li>90% of individuals own a mobile</li><li>Half the mobile users had smartphones</li><li>18% used laptops, desktops or tablets at home</li><li>Among the 35% who used the internet, 98% said they use mobile phones to get online</li><li>75% used mobile data to access the internet.</li></ul>Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32527&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">So, you want to quit Facebook?,</a> Reeti KC<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32537&amp;preview_nonce=96e6eb44eb&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal’s new digital landscape,</a> Sonia AwaleAs our review of the survey in this edition (page 15) shows, the shift of eyeballs to digital media is going to have a profound impact on the way Nepalis communicate with each other, the way Nepal is governed and how  Nepali society functions.While the legacy press is still strong and influential, and people do not fully trust information on the Net, the window for print is narrowing. As elsewhere, it is inevitable that the online editions of the mainstream press, digital news portals and YouTube channels are going to be the main sources of news. Print media will have to re-invent its revenue model, or perish. Internet viewing patterns in Nepal and other parts of the region show increasing dominance of entertainment content. Facebook and social media addiction is becoming a problem, reducing the attention span of readers, exposing them to click bait, fake news and rumours.   As the recent case involving Rabi Lamichhane — as well as protests against heritage destruction, violence against women and corruption — shows, social media content is now driving mainstream media content, setting the agenda for coverage and priority accorded to events, personalities and issues.Not all of this is improper, damaging or dangerous. The internet has democratised information flow, levelled the playing field, and in many cases turned citizens into actors and content providers themselves. The cybersphere has become the new Nepali public sphere, chautari and our own global village, where the medium is the message.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32425&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Detox,</a> Nepali Times<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis are drifting to digital media</a>, Madhu Acharya and Bhumiraj ChapagainPeople like <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kulman Ghising</a> of the Nepal Electricity Authority, <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18574#.XXDSoS4zbIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vijay Lama</a> of Nepal Airlines, and <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-far-sighted-eye-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sanduk Ruit</a> of <a style="font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://tilganga.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tilganga</a> have been propelled to national stardom through social media magnification. They are seen by the public at large as direct antitheses of greedy and corrupt politicians.No wonder, then, that the greedy and corrupt feel threatened by these personalities. In the battle between populism and popularity, these new heroes expose the hopeless inadequacies of political figures because of their integrity and selfless devotion to public welfare. When they become a political threat, we have seen backlash from the rulers.The Nepali Net is affecting politics because the young middle-class is now wired. Half of Nepal’s population is under 21, and this networked youth bulge will have huge political implications in the next general election in 2022.Where the new voters get their information, how they get it and what kind of information it is, will determine who rules Nepal and how. If the information is correct and credible, exposes wrongdoing, is fair to all concerned, and lets voters make up their own minds, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Media</a> will strengthen Nepal’s fragile democracy.But if in the next three years, fake news goes viral, bot armies are deployed, false social media accounts target individuals to destroy their credibility, and troll factories are created to widen and exploit religion, sectarian, caste and ethnic fault lines, then Nepal is headed for disaster.For now, social media is a free-for-all. It is still dominated by the personal, but is increasingly being used as a political platform by citizens to air their views. It is in this dynamic, interactive and instantaneous public cybersphere that opinions are increasingly being made and spread.The Internet is a double-edged sword: it can mobilise pro-democracy protests and be a marketplace of ideas, but it can also radicalise society with algorithm-driven echo chambers, hate speech and corrosive dialogue.As with all media there are the good, the bad and the ugly. At a time when the mainstream press is co-opted, coerced or bought off by political brokers, social media still holds out the hope of keeping the democratic space open.Fortunately most Nepalis, wired or otherwise, value peace and harmony. This silent majority must be silent no more, and speak out on the social web to drown out the fake and phoney.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's changing media landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New news</a>, Editorial <h2>10 years ago this week</h2> This excerpt from the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16274#.XXD94y4zaUk">front page story</a> in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/467">Nepali Times #467</a> of 4-12 September 2019 shows that however much things change in Nepal, they stay the same:'There is no other way to write the new Constitution, protect the peace process and reduce foreign interference than for the political leadership to work together. Yet they can’t bring themselves to do it.Individually, they all give speeches saying there is no alternative to consensus politics. But their actions say just the opposite. Even when antagonistic parties get together, like the NC and the Maoists, it is for selfish and partisan reasons. <img width="400" height="610" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56bb9c7e80680e05479fjpeg.jpg" alt=""> Threatening “to capture state power through a people’s rebellion” and a bloodbath will not take the process forward. Openly moving around with guns, refusing to rehabilitate those rejected in the cantonments, continuing to obstruct Parliament, will not help.'

THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3faa9c7e80680e04a5dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>SUP-PRESS: Journalists taking part in a rally on Tuesday ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May were stopped by barricades and riot police outside Parliament in Kathmandu. Pic: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA</figcaption></figure>The year since the Nepal Communist Party government came to power has seen a creeping squeeze on the media space, both on the Internet and in the mainstream press. The Civil and Criminal Codes first criminalised photos and cartoons that ridiculed politicians and then put official documents out of bounds for media.Journalists have been arrested and ordinary citizens, including a singer, have been trolled and threatened for social media posts. Reporters without Borders ranked Nepal at 106 among 180 countries on its Press Freedom Index 2019, a six-point drop from last year.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fad9c7e80680e04a5dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="364" height="204">The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) says there were 58 violations of media freedom by the state last year. They included attacks, threats, abuse and even the disappearance of one journalist. FNJ this week submitted a letter to the co-chair of the ruling NCP, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as well as to opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, drawing their attention to the crackdowns. The nature and number of incidents have come down from the previous year, but legal challenges have increased, says FNJ general secretary Ramesh Bista.“Journalists are being arrested through laws not designed for the media, but the Electronic Transaction Act, which usually applies to banking,” says Bista. “The government is preparing a draft for online content and an umbrella law for all media that includes provisions which could affect journalists in their work. We are very concerned about the negative impact this will have on the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of expression in Nepal.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/gagging-the-press-in-installments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gagging the press in installments</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/press-freedom-must-be-defended-by-its-maximum-application/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Press freedom must be defended by its maximum application</a>, Shiva GauleHistorically, Nepal has been a safe country for journalists since the end of the absolute monarchy, although there was a period in 2016 when reporters and editors were silenced. On paper, Nepal has some of the most progressive laws on press freedom, and is one of the few countries where the right to information is also applicable to politicians. However, these laws have been superseded by potentially draconian provisions that could allow the state to deny these rights.“The Criminal Code of 2017 has criminalised the violation of privacy and prohibits investigating records and documents, which directly hampers the work of journalists. Individual privacy should be protected, but the law should not be applicable to public figures,” says Namrata Sharma, Chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, Nepal. “The Constitution prohibits acts or speech against national interest and sovereignty, and that can be used against journalists, which is a matter of great concern.”Activists at a rally a few days ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May said the ruling NCP’s attitude towards the media has been antagonistic. Minister of Communication and Information Technology Gokul Baskota has publicly derided media criticism of the government. A person who posted an unflattering, photo-shopped image of the prime minister online was arrested, singer Pashupati Sharma was forced to delete a music video on YouTube that ridiculed corruption, and Pokhara reporter Arjun Giri was arrested over a defamation complaint under the cybercrime law.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/suppressed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Suppressed</a>, Om Astha Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/creeping-control-over-the-press-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Creeping control over the press in Nepal</a>, Ajay Pradhan

Long shadows

<img width="640" height="360" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22dd9c7e80680e0417b0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Four years ago, Lemi Tamang was just another fine arts student in Kathmandu when she started posting her makeup photos and videos on Instagram, just for fun.Her fresh, dewy looks got more attention than she had ever expected. Before she knew it, she had become a professional makeup artist with studios in Kathmandu and Mumbai. “I decided to change my passion into my career,” says Tamang who now has 277,000 followers on Instagram. Tamang has worked with her dream brand Faces, teaches makeup in Nepal, and travels all over the globe on work assignments, and credits her success to social media. “No question about it, my work got noticed and I got assignments because of social media and it is my work portfolio,” she says.A new brand of celebrities called ‘influencers’ now propel themselves to fame through social media, and the phenomenon is also turning the traditional advertising industry on its head. And the trend has arrived in Nepal.Consumers no longer need television or newspapers to listen to songs, watch videos, laugh at comedy, learn fashion, makeup, or cooking tips, or even get the news. They are fed what they like online through algorithms or friends, and have no need to go beyond this circle of aquaintances or interests. All this has created a new brand of celebrities whom people trust and follow. These influencers typically get people to click on their content because of their talent, and they no longer need to be profiled in mainstream tv and the press to become famous.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's changing social media landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative, <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/social-media-movements-nepal,574" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hashtag revolution</a>, Tsering Dolker Social media musical sensations like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bipul-chettri-back-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bipul Chhetri</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-sky-full-of-images/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bartika Eam Rai</a>, Sushant KC, Sajjan Raj Vaidya, Neetesh Jung Kunwar, Swoopna Suman have all burst in Nepal’s cyberspace like supernovae. Comedians like Rupshi Basnet and Binayak Kuinkel, and dancers like Cartoonz Crew have gone on to great fame. Nepal has several world-famous makeup artists like Promise Tamang, also known as the ‘human chameleon’.Reshma Ghimire, who goes by the moniker tigerreshma on social media, used to enjoy the app Tiktok, where you can act and lip-sync to all kinds of background music, from songs to Bollywood dialogues. Her antics got her 98,000 followers, and offers for music videos (she accepted 2).“I love appearing on screen, and am considering movies as well. But I hope I can still continue my nursing profession,” she says. Khusbu Gauchan started a fashion blog eight years ago as a hobby, but then was flooded with offers of collaboration from international brands. She started receiving packages of clothes and was asked to model them in her blog. “And I got to keep the clothes, I didn’t have to shop after that,” Gauchan says, laughing.If you admire Sisan Baniya’s leather jacket or want to grab a bottle of Pepsi like Reshma Ghimire, it may not be pure accident. Companies approach influencers who have 30,000+ followers with placement offers. Elena Don, known for her funny vines, recently endorsed Somersby, Livon and Tuborg in her social media feed.“It is good pocket money, and I might turn audio-visual production into a profession,” says the liberal arts and science student. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/social-media-and-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social media and democracy</a>, Sahina Shrestha <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18837#.XEBRP1UzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social media as political player</a>, Ashutosh Tiwari But influencers agree that success is not easy, and it is hard to convince parents that there is a future in it. Aneel Neupane decided to plunge full time into photography after he dropped out of accounting school. “My parents were aghast that I was leaving a dependable career and putting all my eggs in an  unreliable basket,” recalls Neupane, who now has a film production company. One of the earliest Nepali social media celebrities was Lex Limbu, who attained fame through his news blog site. He says there are pros and cons: “Ten years ago, there were fewer Nepalis who made vlogs or YouTube skits and when they did, people would often wonder why. Today, a majority feel that their stories, voice and views deserve a space online and everyone has the ability to generate an instant mass following. It has really helped some but also shown how difficult it can be to stand out among many.”Influencers agree that while starting out is easy, standing out is the difficult part, and consistency is key. “There may be so many others out there who are better than me, but they are not as famous,” admits Sisan Baniya, one of the most popular Nepali vloggers. “The key is to work hard and keep producing quality content."All over the world the relationship between traditional and social media is being remolded every day, and Nepal is no different.  But the death of the mainstream media may be greatly exaggerated.“At some point, social and mainstream media complement each other,” says Information Technology expert Aakar Anil. “For many virtual celebrities, social media is a stepping stone into mainstream media. And mainstream media increasingly uses social media for everything from scouting for talent to promoting products. In future the two will likely go hand in hand.”Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/face-to-face-with-facebook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Face to face with facebook</a>, Nepali Times <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Online-violence-against-women,2915" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online violence against women</a>, Sahina Shrestha   <h2>Social Media celebrities</h2> “There used to be a time when I used to reply to every negative comment trying to make people understand, but now I don’t care.” <img width="208" height="195" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22e09c7e80680e0417b1jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Khusbu Gauchan Fashion Blogger  <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://stylescrap-khusbu.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stylescrap-khusbu.blogspot.com</a> 20k views per monthClaim to fame: Modeling clothes on blogTeam: Makeup artist and PhotographerFame led to: A new package of clothes waiting at home almost every dayOther careers: Restaurant, airbnb, hospitality <img width="560" height="560" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22e19c7e80680e0417b2jpeg.jpg" alt=""> “You cannot always be creative, so all your posts are not the same quality. But if you lose quality, people lose interest.” <img width="178" height="169" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22e39c7e80680e0417b3jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Aneel Neupane Photo Manipulator <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22e49c7e80680e0417b4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/aneelneupaneofficial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aneel.neupane</a> 10k on FacebookClaim to fame: Quirky photo manipulations showing miniature people in dream locationsTeam: Started alone, now has teamFame led to: Career in audiovisual productionOther careers: CA dropout “Your social media portfolio is like your shop window, you have to present the best of your work, well photographed and edited.” <img width="414" height="437" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22e69c7e80680e0417b5jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Lemi Tamang Makeup Artist <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.instagram.com/___lemii___/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">__lemii__</a> 277k on InstagramClaim to fame: Fresh, dewy makeup videos and tutorialsTeam: One woman army, plans to hire video professionals Fame led to: Makeup for the entire website of Faces, and work with GQ Other careers: Former fine arts student  <img width="640" height="537" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22e89c7e80680e0417b6jpeg.jpg" alt=""> “So many of our youth abroad are frustrated. They talk to me and I tell them it’s possible to make it in Nepal.” <img width="482" height="418" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22eb9c7e80680e0417b7jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Sisan Baniya Vlogger <img width="640" height="560" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22ec9c7e80680e0417b8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpzxtwBLa0BoJ2aKua5CIXg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paradygm TV</a> 175k on YouTubeClaim to Fame: funny videos on paradygm tv, and personal vines and travel vlogsTeam: up to half a dozen editorsFame led to: more fame and promotion of audio-visual production houseOther careers: Restaurant, garments, production house “Sometimes you just want to have a normal day, you don’t want to do anything. But you feel like you owe it to your supporters, so you make content anyway.” <img width="328" height="373" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22ef9c7e80680e0417b9jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Elena Vine Maker <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.instagram.com/elenadon_/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elenadon_</a> 52k on InstagramClaim to fame: Funny and relatable vinesTeam: One woman armyFame led to: Endorsement and music video offers Other careers: Hoping to learn script writing and move to YouTube <img width="640" height="601" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22f09c7e80680e0417bajpeg.jpg" alt=""> “It’s a very strange world because no one tells you what to do if you become famous. You just have to figure out by yourself.” <img width="258" height="258" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22f39c7e80680e0417bbjpeg.jpg" alt=""> Reshma Ghimire Tiktok Video Maker <img width="640" height="750" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22f49c7e80680e0417bcjpeg.jpg" alt=""> <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.instagram.com/tigereshmaghimire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TigerReshma</a> 98k on InstagramClaim to fame: Dramatic expressions and on-point lip sync to TiktokTeam: Selfie phoneFame led to: Two music videos, film offers, model coordination stintsOther careers: Currently studying for nursing degree  “Sometimes I worry when I see people whose only goals are to be well known, who do everything just to amass attention.” <img width="336" height="349" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22f69c7e80680e0417bdjpeg.jpg" alt=""> Lex limbu Blogger <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://lexlimbu.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lexlimbu.com </a> 113k on FacebookClaim to fame: most reliable and fast source for news about Nepali celebrities Team: One man armyFame led to: credibility as news source, collaboration offersOther careers: working for Red Cross<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22f89c7e80680e0417bejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="963" height="800">

The new reality of Nepal’s virtual celebrities

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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