UNESCO Survey Maps Risks for Nepal's Young Digital Creators
UNESCO's Nepal creator survey finds a youth-driven sector facing hate speech, trolling and doxxing, as UNFPA reviews gaps in laws on tech-facilitated violence.
The story in focus
UNESCO has released a survey of Nepal's digital content creators, most of them aged 18 to 35, finding that around a quarter reported hate speech and trolling or doxxing. A companion UNFPA review examines how the legal framework handles tech-facilitated gender-based violence.
- 73.4% of surveyed Nepali creators are aged 18–35; TikTok and Instagram were each used by about 72.7%.
- 26.6% reported experiencing online hate speech and 25.0% reported trolling or doxxing.
- 36.7% took no action when they encountered misinformation, the survey found.
What the survey found
UNESCO launched "Behind the Screens in Nepal: Experiences, Practices, and Challenges of Digital Content Creators" at a joint event with UNFPA in October 2026. The report describes the sector as strongly youth-driven: 73.4 per cent of respondents were aged 18–35, and TikTok and Instagram were each used by around 72.7 per cent of surveyed creators.
On safety and information, 26.6 per cent of respondents said they had experienced hate speech, while 25.0 per cent reported trolling or doxxing. Some 36.7 per cent said they took no action when they encountered misinformation, which UNESCO frames as pointing to a need for stronger media and information literacy and institutional support.
Scale of the digital landscape
According to the article, Nepal had around 16.6 million internet users by late 2025, or 56 per cent of the population, and 14.8 million social media user identities. Nepal Police's Cyber Bureau registered nearly 19,000 cybercrime cases in fiscal year 2024/25, including harassment, sextortion, hate speech and misuse of photographs and videos.
Legal review and next steps
UNFPA presented a review of Nepal's legal and policy framework on tech-facilitated gender-based violence, covering whether harms are recognised in law, platform obligations, investigative and evidentiary capacity, and responsibility for AI-generated content. It emphasises safety by design, placing responsibility on those who build and operate digital systems rather than only on users.
The event included panels on policy implementation and on creator accountability and well-being, with participants from the Ministry of Communication and Information, the Press Council, Nepal Police's Cyber Bureau and the Office of the Attorney General. UNESCO and UNFPA called for joint action by government, platforms, civil society and educators.
How many creators in UNESCO's Nepal survey reported experiencing hate speech?
26.6 per cent of surveyed creators said they had experienced online hate speech, and 25.0 per cent reported trolling or doxxing, according to the UNESCO survey report.
Sources & further reading
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