The record-breaking Kony 2012 viral video ignited a storm upon social media and news outlets both supporting the cause and arguing against it. The results of the social awareness campaign are unprecedented, but the purpose remains questioned. Kony 2012’s polarizing web presence, either positive or negative, is inescapable.
Invisible Children, the nonprofit organization that created the video, was founded by three young filmmakers who went to Uganda in 2003, and made a documentary detailing the atrocities of the Congo’s longest-running war. “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” was the organization’s first documentary that brought to light how a warlord named Joseph Kony, the head of the rebel movement, has been abducting children and forcing them to become child soldiers or sex slaves for his officers. Kony’s rebel forces, called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), have abducted more than 30,000 children in Northern Uganda since its inception in 1987.
Kony 2012 is just the latest of Invisible Children’s campaigns to bring awareness to this issue, but has garnered much more attention than any of the previous documentaries. By Wednesday, the campaign had reached over 100 million views and became the fastest-growing viral video to date.
“It hasn’t been better than this,” said Hiram Villarreal, one of Invisible Children’s Los Angeles Street Team City Coordinators, regarding the success of campaign. “There’s been about 10 documentaries so far … but this one, it spread over social media and the word got out, just as it should have.”
The Kony 2012 campaign mission is simple: see Joseph Kony surrender or be captured. President Barack Obama ordered 100 military servicemen as advisers to northern Uganda in October, and Invisible Children wants to see them stay there. Their proposed solution is to influence U.S. policy holders with public awareness.
Critics of the advocacy group view the video as an outdated campaign. Others claim Kony 2012 is “slacktivism” — “liking” or “retweeting” a cause achieves an inflated satisfaction without having to actively participate.
For junior Francis Lubuulwa, an international student from Uganda, the video oversimplifies the problem in his home country.
“For me, the video is about simply killing Kony, getting rid of the problem. But the truth is that Kony’s been out of Uganda since 2005-2006, which I don’t think was made very clear in the video,” Lubuulwa said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate their efforts. They’re great and mean well and it’s a step in the right direction for bringing attention to these issues.”
Lubuulwa said that though Ugandans do want to see Kony brought to justice, it isn’t the most pressing issue. Uganda, he said, is in need of rehabilitation programs, such as counseling and support for those victims, who likely lost parents, neighbors and friends in the conflict.
The Invisible Children website details their work on the ground in Uganda, including an early warning radio network, a rehabilitation center, schools, scholarships and livelihood programs.
“The movie explores that Kony left Uganda, but the fact is, when he left, there is still work to be done. We need to be ready when the victims come home,” Villarreal said regarding Invisible Children’s plans to build rehabilitation centers.
While some question Invisible Children’s media strategies, Pepperdine alumna Hayley Johnson (’11) joined the cause months before the video went viral. She is currently working as a Roadie Team Leader in a five-month-long tour with the organization.
“I saw it as a way of making change; I was drawn to be a means to be part of something bigger than myself and bringing the LRA to justice,” Johnson said.
Blogs and news outlets continue to gush about the organization’s dubious business practices. According to Invisible Children’s financial statements from last year, about 37 percent went to direct services in Uganda, while the rest of the $13 million profits funded film costs, lobbying efforts, travel and employee salaries.
“I agree 100 percent with the way they spend the money,” Villarreal said. “I’ve seen how trustworthy and honest they are. Eighty-six percent goes to programs …Yes our money goes to [awareness programs], but without raising awareness, the other part — the programs in Africa that get 37 percent — would not be there.”
The online resource Charity Navigator gives the nonprofit group a two-out-of-four accountability and transparency rating. The nonprofit also does not work with the Better Business Bureau, a corporation dedicated to business’s ethical standards and investigating substandard behavior.
Invisible Children has rebutted most of the criticism on their website and through media broadcasts. The team has been steadfast in directly responding to the online sources’ suspicions, and the sites often post these exchanges.
Dr. Robert Williams, ethics, international politics and SAAJ professor, believes the most impressive story from the video is its smart publicity and marketing. He said social media has already shifted the political arena, and Invisible Children hits on the right techniques that made the 2008 Obama campaign and the Arab Spring successful.
“I don’t know anything that has spread quite this quickly,” Williams said. “I don’t think this is any different from the true nature of politics. You build a political movement with a few committed people who know the issues and get deep into whatever the concern is, and then you get other people willing to listen for five minutes.”
Williams has already seen his students actively pursuing the topic, requesting to write papers and discuss more of the Kony 2012 phenomenon in class.
“There are these longer term structural problems,” Williams said. “One of the very serious issues happening in Uganda right now is the legislature has been considering antigay legislation. It’s not a new thing in Uganda, but it’s one of the sort of odd and very illiberal things of politics in central Africa right now.”
He hopes to see young people use the Kony movement as a springboard to research or donate to less publicized NGOs like International Crisis Group or World Vision.
“I’m pleased that if something goes viral in the way this has, it’s something worth discussing,” Williams said.
Kony 2012 action kits, the $30 boxes containing Kony 2012 paraphernalia that supporters were able to buy, sold out within days on the Invisible Children website. As is evidenced by the posters around campus on dorm room windows, many supporters are Pepperdine students; yet one of the biggest critiques of the movement has been that Kony 2012 is perpetuated more by “white guilt” than good intentions. Those who hurried to don a Kony 2012 bracelet may begin to feel a buyer’s remorse.
Freshman Safeena Padder experienced conflicting emotions after ordering her Kony action kit. It seemed like a responsible purchase after viewing the film, but now Padder is confused. She is unsure whether she will continue to support Kony 2012 — which includes participating in the April 20 “Cover the Night” event — because of the increasing criticism.
“I don’t regret buying the kit,” Padder said. “But after I had read the blog visiblechildren.tumblr.com, I was unsure about some of the tactics Invisible Children was using and how they’re efforts were being expended.”
Invisible Children has made it clear, however, that one of their biggest goals with Kony 2012 is global awareness, which partially involves T-shirts, bracelets and action kits. They are self-described as “not into charity,” but rather “genuine compassion.”
“Whether it’s a bracelet or knowledge, there is some validity in contributing to the cause. A lot of the critiques are that it’s a bunch of privileged kids wanting to help, but it [Invisible Children] is more than that,” said Holly Tant, a volunteer with Invisible Children’s LA Street Team. “It’s people actually knowing what they are doing and having knowledge of the issue. … If they’re interested and passionate in the cause, they should be able to look at the criticism and look at the organization for themselves and see if they agree with it.”
Kony was indicted in 2005 by the International Criminal Court for atrocities. He tops the list for the ICC’s most-wanted for crimes against humanity and remains at large in Africa.
