They are called the ‘brain rot’ generation—addicted to memes, short videos, and endless scrolling. Political elites dismiss them as apathetic, glued to their phones while the country’s problems piled up. But last week in Nepal, this so-called brain rot became a force that toppled the government.

From TikTok clips exposing the extravagant lives of politicians’ children to Discord servers coordinating marches and VPNs bypassing social media bans, young Nepalis turned the tools of their digital lives into instruments of political power. We spoke to protesters, organisers and on-the-ground witnesses to capture the reasons and the spirit behind what is now called the September 8 uprising of Nepal.

Though some trace the revolt to a school student’s speech in March 2025 when declared that Nepa

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