Governing by status updates

A nation cannot be governed by social media status updates and viral photographs.

In recent months, the Prime Minister Balendra Shah-led government has increasingly substituted policy engagement with a digital-first approach that prioritises viral engagement over the rigours of statecraft. While the adept use of technology is a hallmark of modern leadership, a worrying pattern has emerged where social media serves as a tool for deflection, trivialising serious state affairs and obscuring critical national crises.