The government of Nepal has issued an urgent directive to Meta and TikTok, demanding that the two global social media platforms immediately remove graphic images, AI-generated videos, fraudulent QR codes and misleading posts circulating on their services following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods. Government officials held talks with Nepal-based representatives of the platforms on Friday, pressing them to take faster and more decisive action against content that could mislead the public, obstruct relief efforts, or cause further distress to the families of victims. Bijay Kumar Roy, coordinator of the government’s social media regulation and management task force and a director at the Nepal Telecommunications Authority, said direct co-ordination with the platform providers was essential because Internet Service Providers can only block entire web domains. “The government has urged TikTok and Meta to make their algorithms proactive so that graphic and false content is automatically blocked as soon as it is posted,” Roy said. The instruction was not framed as a mere request; officials described it as an emergency measure necessitated by an unprecedented wave of digital misinformation. Since Wednesday, when flash floods swept through the Bhotekoshi river area and caused catastrophic damage, social media has been flooded with content that is either factually wrong, deliberately misleading, or deeply traumatic. Official agencies responsible for rescue and relief have found themselves competing with viral falsehoods, while families of the dead and missing must endure the additional horror of seeing their loved ones’ images circulated without consent. The government’s move reflects a shift in thinking: in a modern disaster, controlling the flow of information is as important as dispatching rescue teams. Nepal is not alone in facing this problem, but its decision to summon Meta and TikTok to face-to-face talks marks one of the most direct attempts yet by a South Asian government to compel platform accountability during a national emergency.
The scale of the misinformation problem has alarmed officials almost as much as the flood itself. Within hours of the disaster, old videos from earlier floods were being recirculated as fresh footage of the Bhotekoshi deluge, stripped of dates and context. More sophisticated AI-synthesised videos and images, some of them almost indistinguishable from real footage, began appearing under the guise of authentic eyewitness accounts from the affected districts. Authorities also detected fraudulent QR codes disguised as legitimate crowdfunding tools. These codes, when scanned, appear to solicit donations for flood victims but in reality direct money away from official relief channels and into private accounts. Officials fear such scams could exploit public sympathy, fooling well-intentioned people across Nepal and abroad into giving money that will never reach the victims. The same malicious actors, officials suspect, may also be spreading panic-inducing rumours. Misinformation about the number of casualties, the condition of roads, the availability of shelters, and even the safety of infrastructure has already caused confusion in relief operations. Graphic images and videos, including those showing victims’ bodies and the gruesome aftermath of the flood, have been shared freely without warnings or blurring. The government has warned that such content could deepen the trauma suffered by families of victims, particularly when shared without context or verification. It has also made the work of emergency personnel more difficult, as rescue teams are forced to respond not only to real emergencies but to viral false claims. In a crisis, every false alarm diverts scarce resources: helicopters, ambulances, and trained rescuers that could have been used to save lives. The information war, in other words, is not a side issue; it is part of the disaster itself. Many of the most widely shared videos contain no location metadata, making them impossible to verify, yet they are presented as definitive proof of events, and ordinary users often have no way of knowing what is real.
Meta and TikTok have established designated focal points in Nepal through which authorities can flag problematic posts, and officials acknowledged that the companies have co-ordinated to remove some material after receiving complaints. But the response has not been fast enough. Roy said the platforms currently take between 24 and 48 hours to act on reported posts. In internet terms, that is an eternity. A violent or misleading video can be viewed millions of times and re-uploaded across countless accounts in that period, rendering the original removal almost meaningless. Officials therefore asked the companies to substantially shorten their response time and to immediately blur distressing images and videos, particularly those showing victims and the aftermath of the disaster. More significantly, the government urged Meta and TikTok to change their algorithms so that graphic and false content is automatically blocked as soon as it is posted, without waiting for human moderators to review it. Such proactive moderation already exists in some form, as platforms use machine-learning tools to detect terrorism, child exploitation, and copyright violations. Extending the same technology to disaster-related misinformation is technically feasible, but it raises questions about accuracy, over-blocking, and the role of automated systems in journalism and public communication. The government, however, argues that a national emergency justifies special measures. Delays, Roy indicated, have already allowed harmful material to spread widely before being taken down, and the current removal process is not capable of keeping pace with the volume of new posts. The company representatives, for their part, said they would review the requests and respond as quickly as possible. But officials left the meeting without written commitments, underscoring a persistent asymmetry: Nepal can block websites, but it cannot force private platforms to act. This is why, in Roy’s words, direct coordination is essential.
To strengthen the response, the government has formed a multi-agency team tasked with monitoring and regulating harmful online content throughout the crisis. The team brings together technical, regulatory, and law enforcement bodies: the Ministry of Communication and Information, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority, and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Within this structure, the NTA is responsible for technical co-ordination with social media platforms, while Nepal Police is responsible for identifying people suspected of creating or circulating malicious content and initiating legal proceedings where necessary. The government-mobilised team is led by NTA director Bijay Kumar Roy and includes NTA deputy director Surya Prasad Lamichhane, NTA assistant director Om Prakash Mahato, Ministry of Communication and Information engineer Kumar Yadav, and Inspector Arun Tamang from the home ministry. The mix of engineers, administrators, and police officers is deliberate: it reflects an understanding that misinformation is not merely a technological glitch but a public-order problem. Tracking down the creators of AI-generated videos and fraudulent QR codes requires both digital forensic capacity and legal authority. Police teams are now sifting through accounts and pages that have repeatedly posted false or graphic content, looking for evidence of intent and coordination. Officials have not publicised any arrests, but they have made clear that legal proceedings will be initiated where necessary. The task force is also working with telecom service providers and official emergency agencies to ensure that accurate information reaches affected communities. In a crisis, the gap between a false rumour and a verified update can mean the difference between life and death. The government’s goal, according to officials, is not to silence criticism or restrict free expression, but to prevent people from using a national tragedy as an occasion for fraud, panic, and cruelty. Whether those lines can be drawn clearly will depend on the cumulative actions of platforms, police, and ordinary users in the coming days.
Alongside the operational actions, the Ministry of Communication and Information has issued a formal appeal to all national and local media outlets and to social media users, asking them to avoid sharing distressing photographs, unverified reports and fabricated material. The ministry’s statement said that information circulating during a crisis can have a significant impact on rescue operations, relief distribution and public morale. “We appeal to all national and local media outlets as well as social media users not to share unverified, fabricated, or AI-generated rumours that spread panic,” the statement said. The ministry also warned that graphic images and videos could deepen the trauma suffered by families of victims, particularly when such material is shared without context or verification. That warning applies as much to professional media as to individual users. In past disasters, newspapers and television channels have often rushed to broadcast gruesome content in the name of breaking news, causing lasting harm to victims’ families and communities. The government is now asking them to exercise restraint and to prioritise human dignity over audience numbers. Authorities have urged people to verify information before forwarding or reposting, especially material purporting to show the latest flood damage, casualties, rescue operations, or requests for financial assistance. They have also said that any donation appeals should be checked against official lists of registered charities and government relief accounts. Public co-operation is vital, because no algorithm or police investigation can stop every harmful post before it reaches a screen. Digital literacy, in this sense, is not an abstract virtue; it is a survival tool. The ministry’s appeal has been echoed by civil society groups, who have encouraged citizens to treat social media messages with skepticism and to rely on official sources for urgent updates. But officials know that appeals alone are insufficient. The combination of legal threat, technical coordination, and public awareness is intended to create a multi-layered defence against the wave of misinformation. It remains to be seen whether those layers can hold.
The Bhotekoshi flood crisis has thus become a test case for how developing countries respond to the digital dimensions of disasters. The government’s demand that Meta and TikTok proactively remove and block harmful content raises legitimate concerns about free speech, algorithmic censorship, and the power of private companies to decide what is true or false. In a working democracy, states should not be able to dictate the content of online speech without due process. Yet in a humanitarian emergency, the cost of inaction is far too high. Every hour that a graphic video remains online can cause new trauma; every false rumour can send rescue teams down a wrong path; every fraudulent QR code can divert money intended to feed the displaced. Nepal’s approach, by seeking direct cooperation with platforms rather than attempting unilateral censorship, reflects the realities of the modern internet. It also signals a new expectation: that social media companies should treat their platforms not merely as neutral hosting services but as active participants in disaster response. This expectation may soon spread to other countries facing similar crises. As climate change increases the frequency of floods, landslides, and storms, governments across the Global South are watching how Nepal navigates this complex terrain. The outcome will depend on whether Meta and TikTok deliver concrete improvements in response times, whether Nepal Police can successfully prosecute the worst offenders, and whether citizens develop the habit of verifying before sharing. For now, as rescue workers continue to search for survivors along the Bhotekoshi river, the government’s message is both simple and urgent: do not let misinformation cause a second disaster. The floodwaters will recede, but the impact of carelessly shared content will linger in the lives of the survivors. The fight for truth, in this crisis, is inseparable from the fight to save lives.
