Election and AI

On the opening day of the CPN-UML’s 11th general convention in Sallaghari, Bhaktapur, leader Mahesh Basnet posted photos meant to signal momentum — a sea of bodies, a party back on its feet. One of those images had an AI-generated crowd added using Google’s Gemini, and it spread online as if it were real. Basnet had publicly talked about mobilizing 500,000 people; police estimates for the same gathering were far lower — around 70,000. Whether the edit came from a campaign aide, an overexcited supporter, or someone closer to the center, the point is the same: Nepal’s election season has already started with manufactured “proof.”