Press Council Nepal Urges Media to Avoid Content That Could Mislead Voters Ahead of Elections

Kathmandu. Press Council Nepal has urged against disseminating any content that could affect the upcoming elections or mislead voters.

The Council, in a meeting held on Friday, requested that in sensitive matters like elections, media outlets refrain from publishing, broadcasting, or transmitting analytical content that could influence the election, negatively affect participating political parties and candidates, mislead voters, or impact impartial voting. This also includes content transmitted by foreign media outlets that aims to influence the election.

“It has been observed that a documentary titled ‘Set Like Enemies: Inside Nepal's Gen Z Uprising’ was transmitted via the BBC's YouTube channel on Falgun 14, 2082, ahead of the House of Representatives election scheduled for Falgun 21, 2082, by BBC World News Service,” stated a press release issued by Council's Deputy Spokesperson Ramsharan Bohara, “It appears that Nepali media outlets are transmitting content analyzing this documentary without testing its credibility.”

The Council also announced that the meeting decided to request and correspond with the Government of Nepal and the Election Commission to initiate proceedings through diplomatic coordination, as regulating content transmitted by foreign media outlets, such as the BBC, which operates from a foreign country, and its associated social media, does not clearly fall within the explicit jurisdiction of this Council, especially when such materials are transmitted in the name of a documentary to influence the election close to the polls.