Viral lies: AI deepfakes hijack reality in Nepal’s election run-up

A video showing three of Nepal’s most recognisable political figures walking side by side set social media abuzz late last year, stirring widespread speculation that a new political alliance was taking shape ahead of a looming national election.But there was a catch: the meeting depicted never took place.The clip, depicting Rastriya Swatantra Party leader Rabi Lamichhane, Kathmandu’s former mayor Balendra Shah and ex-power sector chief Kulman Ghising, was a fabrication – one of a growing number of videos generated using artificial intelligence that are now flooding Nepal’s online political space in the run-up to a snap poll on March 5.The election comes just six months after a bloody, youth-led anti-corruption uprising ousted former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli, leaving the country’s political establishment reeling and public trust in institutions badly shaken.A still from an AI-generated video shows former president of the Nepali Congress party Sher Bahadur Deuba taking a fall as he follows ex-prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli. Photo: HandoutIn recent months, a torrent of AI-generated videos, audio clips, images and even songs has swept across Nepal’s social media platforms, much of it misleading and some entirely false.Analysts and digital rights advocates warn that the deluge is muddying public discourse just weeks before the vote.