Did You Watch KONY 2012 Yesterday?

What’s the Latest Development?

Shortly after a half-hour video about the Ugandan war lord Joseph Kony went viral, garnering millions of views in just hours, the inevitable backlash began. The video was produced by a small non-profit called Invisible Children who wants to raise awareness about the crimes Kony has committed, crimes including abducting children to become child soldiers. His actions have earned him the status of the world’s most wanted man before the International Criminal Court. Critics are now taking a closer look at the video and the non-profit itself. 

What’s the Big Idea?

One criticism of the video is that it uses social media to advocate for armed conflict. Foreign Policy‘s Michael Wilkers says it is extremely dangerous to essentially sell a foreign intervention in a reductive and highly-produced video (apparently that sort of thing must be left to more sanctioned media). The biggest criticism of Invisible Children comes from a blog called Visible Children which accuses the non-profit of spending too much money on awareness efforts and not enough on the ground in Uganda. What do you think? Can the video have a multiplier effect on funding given the incredible success it has had? 

Photo credit: wikipedia