Sangam Bista, a Surkhet resident working in Finland for the past two years, rarely prioritised social media. However, something unusual happened on the night of April 3. A 'digital tsunami' crossed oceans to shatter her peace. Due to a name confusion with another Sangam Bista living in the United States, she became the target of relentless cyberbullying.

While Bista was resting on her day off in Finland, social media buzz erupted in Nepal. Another woman with the same name in the US had recently gone public with allegations of sexual assault. Unaware of the brewing storm, the Finnish-based Bista noticed an unusual spike in her TikTok engagement.

"I am not very active on social media. I was shocked to see millions of views and followers suddenly increasing," she recalled. Driven by curiosity, she posted two videos, which gained instant traction. The curiosity turned to horror when she opened her inbox.

"I was so panicked by the flood of abuse in my message requests that I have no words to describe it. I was mentally disturbed instantly," she said. "The messages contained heinous allegations of honey-trapping men, bargaining for money, and destroying families."

The digital mob failed to distinguish between the two individuals with the same name. Users began circulating her photos, linking them to the controversy of US-based Sangam.

Despite being married and fearing for the reputation of two families, Bista’s attempts to clarify her identity were met with further vitriol. "Even when I explained via TikTok that I was not that person, the attacks did not stop; they worsened," she lamented.

This incident mirrors the volatility of Nepal’s digital landscape, where 'trial by social media' often precedes factual verification. Legal experts repeatedly said that the Electronic Transactions Act 2008 remains the primary tool against such defamation, yet enforcement remains a challenge.

"The distance between the US, Finland, and Nepal is thousands of miles, but a wrong tag erased that gap and painted an innocent person as a criminal," said Bista. "Having the same name was not my crime, yet the digital mob put me in the dock. Please do not tarnish someone's character based on a name without verifying their identity," she lamented. "Such baseless allegations can turn an innocent person's world upside down."