How Gen Z in Nepal won protests with cartoon skull and UNO reverse?

The recent Gen Z-led protests in Nepal had all the usual elements one might expect, angry faces, clashes with police, burning offices, placards. Yet they weren’t quite the protests people were used to seeing.

The Nepal government, on September 3, banned social media platforms, citing a new rule that required companies to register in the country.  Thousands of young people took to the streets in what was called a Gen Z protest, torching government offices, clashing with security forces, and targeting politicians’ homes. According to Reuters, at least 30 people were killed. The resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli did little to calm the anger.

But Nepal natives on reddit insisted the protest was about more than a social media ban. User yuukiee-q wrote, “Even Nepali media has twisted the narrative to it being just a ‘Gen Z’ protest so that the older demographic is excluded.” The user also accused politicians and their families of flaunting unexplained wealth, pointing to deep-rooted corruption.

What shocked many, however, was how Gen Z chose to do the protests. Videos went viral showing youth filming TikTok reels and doing trends in the middle of chaos. Captions like “first time protesting, kinda nervous 👉👈” or “GRWM to go protest, pray I come back 💀” spread online. Placards read “So f*cked up even introverts are here.” Among the flags raised was the Jolly Roger from One Piece (popular Japanese anime), a black flag with a skull in a straw hat and crossed bones. For protesters it echoed the theme of rebellion and freedom.

From using Discord to discuss potential leaders, to editing protest footage into reels, Gen Z reshaped what rebellion looked like. Clips of youth lying in front of military vehicles were cut to trendy music. Others played UNO reverse by throwing back tear gas(they also played UNO in the middle of the protest), dancing amid burning buildings or filming “aura farming” TikTok dances and reels with soldiers in the background.

This wasn’t about being unserious. By using the language, humor and platforms they grew up with, Gen Z claimed their identity. They turned what could have been dismissed as a fight for social media into a broader statement about corruption and injustice. Their reels and videos connected with young people far beyond Nepal, amplifying their cause.

Instagram user ayush.rajan19 said, “How fitting to elect through Discord when the govt tried banning social media.” Another user wrote “They wanted to silence us when we tried to expose them. We wanted a peaceful protest. They shot students and children, not rubber bullets, not on the legs. That’s when we snapped.”

The same platforms the government tried to suppress became the means to spread news of corruption more widely. And Gen Z didn’t stop once the violence ended. Videos later showed young people cleaning streets, repainting roads, and collecting garbage, using the tagline “We protest against corruption, not against the nation.”

But this method of protest was not without criticism. Some argued online that “the protests took Nepal many years back” or that “they just burned down their buildings and destroyed their nation for social media.”

However, this blending of activism with pop culture wasn’t about trivialising the struggle. It's about speaking a language the powerful don’t understand, while creating an instant, powerful connection with peers. The entire Gen Z population broke free from their social media cocoon and engaged in the political affairs of their nation. Millennials in the past had subverted social norms through humour, turning motivational instances into bleak jokes. Gen Z has taken it a step further, they break the format itself. What seems random and absurd is their way of refusing to follow the usual script