Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
Nepal government all set to lift the ban on TikTok from December 10.
Fact
Writ petitions challenging the decision to ban TikTok are currently sub judice at the Supreme Court.
A video claiming that the Nepal government is all set to lift the ban on popular video-sharing app TikTok from Sunday (December 10) is going viral on the platform that was banned in Nepal since November 13.
Earlier on November 13, Nepal government had decided to impose a blanket ban on TikTok, saying that the “misuse” of the popular video-sharing platform “disturbed social harmony and goodwill”. Numerous writ petitions have been lodged at the Supreme Court against the government decision.
TikTok user @kapilkhadka_k.d posted a video showing an illustration including an image of Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. Text superimposed on the video reads, “People’s will have prevailed. The ban on TikTok is going to be lifted from Sunday. Prachanda himself has given the indication.” Audio accompanying the video presented in news bulletin style says, “The government has decided to remove the ban on TikTok. Earlier on November 13, Nepal government had decided to impose a ban on TikTok citing disturbance to social harmony. The government decision to ban the popular Chinese-owned app TikTok ahead of Tihar festival had drawn widespread condemnation, and over a dozen writ petitions had been lodged at the supreme court against the decision. The government made up its mind to remove the prohibition on TikTok at a time when many people raised the question over the government decision.”
The video posted on December 7 has garnered 884 likes, 69 users have shared it and 36 people have commented on it.
The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newscheker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker conducted a search on Google by using relevant keywords and found several articles regarding the latest status of the TikTok in Nepal. On checking an article, dated November 22, published on Onlinekhabar.com, we found that the apex court asked the government to come up with the reason in writing for banning the TikTok.
We checked another article regarding the government response to the apex court published on Onlinekhabar on December 4 which noted that the Ministry of Communications said that ban was the only way to regulate TikTok.
We also found an article, dated December 5, published in My Republica online which confirmed that the hearing on writ petitions against the decision to ban TikTok was deferred.
Further, we found an article dated December 5 on My Republica online which reported that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, during a meeting with journalists and editors, noted that while the ban on TikTok might curtail freedom of expression, a new law currently in the drafting process could address the issue and the new regulations in the law could potentially lead to the withdrawal of the ban on TIkTok.
Our investigation clearly showed that the writ petitions against TikTok ban is still sub judice at the apex court and, we couldn’t verify the claim that the government is set to lift the ban on TikTok from Sunday (December 10) until the time of publishing this article.
Conclusion
The viral video claiming that the ban on TikTok will be lifted from Sunday (December 10) is misleading.
Result: False
Sources
Onlinekhabar November 22, 2023
Onlinekbar.com December 4, 2023
My Republica December 5, 2023
My Republica December 5, 2023
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
