Social media, the tech govt tried to ban, was used to pick Nepal's new leader

An attempt to ban social media in Nepal ended this week in violent protest with the prime minister ousted, the parliament in flames and soldiers on the streets of the capital. Now, the very technology the govt tried to outlaw was harnessed to help select the country's next leader, as more than 100,000 citizens met regularly in a virtual chat room to debate the country's future.

After govt's collapse on Tuesday, the military imposed a curfew across Kathmandu, and restricted large gatherings. With the country in political limbo, Nepalese youth took to Discord, a platform popularised by video gamers, to enact the digital version of a national convention. "Parliament of Nepal now is Discord," said Sid Ghimiri, 23, a content creator from Kathmandu, describing how the site became the centre of the nation's political decision-making.The conversation inside the Discord channel, taking place in a combination of voice, video, and text chats, was so consequential that it was discussed on national television and livestreamed on news sites. The channel's organisers were members of Hami Nepal, a civic organisation, and many of those participating in the chat were the so-called Gen-Z activists who led this week's protests. The army's chiefs had also met with the channel's organisers and asked them to put forth a potential nominee for interim leader.

By the end of Wednesday, they said, after lengthy discussions and several polls, the Discord group had coalesced around Sushila Karki, and proposed her name for in-person meetings with the country's army. nyt