Print — bhutanese-diaspora-misinformation-social-media — BhutanWiki

Bhutanese refugee communities in the United States and other resettlement countries face significant challenges related to misinformation on social media platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. As a community that was resettled from refugee camps with limited prior exposure to digital media, the Lhotshampa diaspora has navigated a rapid transition into a complex and often unreliable information environment. Older community members who rely on Nepali-language social media for news and policy information are particularly vulnerable, and misinformation has affected public health behaviour, electoral participation, and community trust in institutions.^[1]

Information Environment

The Bhutanese refugee community's relationship with social media differs markedly across generations. Younger residents, many of whom grew up in the United States or arrived as children, typically acquired English proficiency relatively quickly and access news through mainstream English-language sources alongside social media. Older residents, however, tend to rely heavily on Nepali-language content circulated through WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages, YouTube channels, and TikTok. Audio and video messages are particularly prevalent, as they allow information to reach elders who may not read English or Nepali script fluently. This reliance on non-text media creates specific vulnerabilities, as audio and video content is harder to fact-check and can be more emotionally persuasive.^[1]

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has described the current information environment as "turbo-charged," with artificial intelligence allowing people to inexpensively produce and distribute false, manipulative, or exploitative content at scale. Refugee communities, which often have lower levels of digital literacy and established media consumption habits, are disproportionately affected.^[1]

Health Misinformation During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the Bhutanese diaspora's vulnerability to health misinformation. A 2023 study published in JMIR Infodemiology examined COVID-19-associated misinformation circulating on WhatsApp within the South Asian diaspora, including Bhutanese communities. The researchers found that misinformation ranged from "universal" false claims about the virus to "South Asian-specific" content containing cultural references, including claims about traditional remedies from Ayurvedic and homeopathic traditions. Messages spread through transnational WhatsApp networks, connecting diaspora communities across multiple countries simultaneously.^[2]

Vaccine hesitancy was amplified by misinformation circulating in Nepali-language WhatsApp groups. False claims about vaccine side effects, conspiracy theories about vaccine ingredients, and distrust of government health messaging were reported across multiple Bhutanese community organisations. Research on refugee and migrant communities has found that vaccine hesitancy sometimes increases with time spent in a resettlement country, suggesting that exposure to anti-vaccination narratives in the broader host society compounds community-specific misinformation channels.^[3]

Political Misinformation and Electoral Challenges

Political misinformation has become an increasing concern as growing numbers of Bhutanese refugees have obtained US citizenship and become eligible to vote. During the 2024 US presidential election cycle, a video circulated on social media platforms claiming that the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh (BCAP) had transported non-citizens to vote at an early voting site in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The claim spread rapidly through social media, generating significant alarm. In reality, the video misrepresented BCAP's voter engagement work, which focuses on providing transportation and language-access support to naturalised citizens participating in elections for the first time.^[1]

This incident illustrates a broader pattern in which refugee communities' civic participation is mischaracterised or weaponised in political narratives about immigration and election integrity. For community organisations like BCAP, which invest significant resources in legitimate voter education and engagement, such misinformation undermines trust and discourages the very civic participation they seek to promote.

Challenges for Elderly Community Members

Elderly Bhutanese refugees face compounding vulnerabilities. Many arrived in the United States with limited formal education, having spent formative years in refugee camps where educational infrastructure was basic. English-language acquisition for adults in this demographic has been slow, and many rely entirely on Nepali-language media for information about their adopted country's laws, policies, and social services. This creates a dependency on informal information networks — WhatsApp groups, community gatherings, and word of mouth — where unverified claims can circulate without correction.^[1]

Misinformation about immigration enforcement has been a particular source of anxiety. In the wake of the 2025 ICE arrests and deportations of Bhutanese community members, rumours and false claims about immigration raids spread rapidly through WhatsApp groups, creating panic and, in some cases, causing people to avoid seeking medical care or interacting with government agencies. Community organisations have reported that correcting misinformation about immigration policy requires sustained, in-person engagement in Nepali, as digital corrections are often less effective than the original false claims.

Community Responses

Several Bhutanese community organisations have developed responses to the misinformation challenge. The Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh (BCAP) has incorporated misinformation response into its regular community programming, including in-person information sessions conducted in Nepali. Community leaders have emphasised that direct, face-to-face communication remains the most effective method of countering false information, as trust in established community figures carries more weight than anonymous social media content.^[1]

In Bhutan itself, the Bhutan Media Foundation (BMF) has launched a toolkit to tackle misinformation online, recognising the broader challenge facing Bhutanese-language social media spaces. The Druk Journal has published analyses of social media use in Bhutan, noting that by 2018, approximately 430,000 Bhutanese — representing 58 per cent of the country's projected population — were on social media, with 410,000 on Facebook. The journal has described the learning curve as "steep," noting that social media use in Bhutan has been characterised by gossip, anonymity, and character attacks alongside more constructive uses.^[4]

Academic and public health researchers have also engaged with the issue. Studies on COVID-19 misinformation in South Asian diaspora communities have recommended culturally tailored interventions, including multilingual fact-checking resources, partnerships with trusted community leaders, and digital literacy programmes specifically designed for older adults with limited formal education.^[2]

Broader Context

The misinformation challenges facing the Bhutanese diaspora are not unique to this community but are part of a broader pattern affecting refugee and immigrant communities worldwide. What distinguishes the Bhutanese case is the community's relatively recent and rapid transition from camp life with minimal digital access to full immersion in the social media environment of the United States. This compressed timeline, combined with linguistic isolation, low digital literacy among the elderly, and the politically charged immigration environment of the mid-2020s, has made the community particularly susceptible to information manipulation.

Misinformation and Social Media Challenges in the Bhutanese Diaspora