Nepal's government collapsed this week following an ill-advised attempt to ban social media outright.
The lifting of the social media ban on Monday was unable to quell a surge in anger. Youth-led groups of disaffected "Gen Z" activists clashed with police in the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, protesting growing wealth inequality and government corruption.
Over 50 people were killed in the clashes as angry crowds set government buildings ablaze, forcing prime minister Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday.
Ironically, social media — one of the core aspects of this week's clashes — has turned into an important forum as protesters looked to elect a new leader. As the New York Times reports, young people are using Discord, a group chat platform conventionally used for playing video games, to debate Nepal's fate — and future leader.
"The Parliament of Nepal right now is Discord," a 23-year-old content creator told the newspaper.
It's not just a backroom conversation — the combination of voice, video, and text chats was reportedly being discussed on national TV, yet another wild demonstration of the power of social media during periods of civil unrest.
According to the NYT, the Discord group's widespread support of Nepal’s former chief justice, Sushila Karki, had grown palpable by Wednesday, the day after Oli was ousted.
One server, dubbed "Youth Against Corruption," accumulated more than 145,000 members.
Discord polls put Karki at the top of the list.
"The point was to simulate a kind of mini-election," Shaswot Lamichhane, a channel moderator and recent high school graduate, told the NYT.
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