Kony 2012 has been all over Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube recently with the viral video hitting over 40,000,000 since it was posted on March 5th. This half hour documentary by filmmaker Jason Russell is backed the organization Invisible Children and goes into the country of Uganda to raise awareness and try to get the leader of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) Joseph Kony arrested.
Kony has been responsible for kidnapping and enslaving over 30,000-66,000 children in Uganda over the last 26 years. The girls are turned into sex slaves and the boys are forced to join the army and in some instances, killing their own parents and mutilating faces of other civilians. Kony is number 1 on the most wanted list for the ICC (international Criminal Court).
In May 2010 U.S President Barack Obama signed the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act which aimed at stopping Kony and his army. Obama authorized 100 special force troops to central Africa to help regional forces capture Kony, so far unsuccessful.
The video that became so viral calls for action. It tells people that this is the year to stop Kony and that it is time to make Kony famous. It was not made to praise him but to make every person aware of who he is and what he has done. The purpose of this is to get the American people to show they care enough to get the government to respond and send more troops to find Kony. The video is set to expire on December 31st, 2012 so the mission needs to be accomplished this year.
Although many have been inspired, others have been more critical about the situation. There have been controversial opinions that Kony 2012 has been cashing in on the donated money. Others have gone so far to say the whole thing is a scam. Guyism.com states on their website “They don’t allow their financials to be audited, they’re rated poorly by some major charity watchdog groups, and only 31% of their money actually goes to helping people according to one financial statement they did release.” More criticism includes that this has been happening all over Africa, with numerous other leaders. There is also the idea that Invisible Children supports the Ugandan government, who has also committed various crimes against humanity. It has also been noted that the video targets “white guilt” so people feel obligated to support the organization.
Invisiblechildren.com responds to the critiques by posting their financial statements for the last five years. They state that “the organization spent 80.46% on our programs that further our three-fold mission; 16.24% on administration and management costs; and 3.22% on direct fundraising in Fiscal Year 2011. Invisible Children is independently audited every year and in full compliance with our 501(c)3 nonprofit status.” It also responds the argument that money is going to the Ugandan government, who also has had a history of abusing children, by saying they do not defend the government and none of the money goes towards it.
