If you have had access to the Internet in the past few weeks, you have most likely been bombarded by the overnight sensation that is the Kony 2012 movement. Through the wonder of the Internet, the video driving this campaign was seen 71,000,000 times all over the world in less than a week since it was uploaded.
The video, produced by the non-profit organization Invisible Children, is an awareness-raising ploy against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, who heads the Lord’s Resistance Army. Kony kidnaps children and teaches them to kill, building his army into a mass of child soldiers.
Invisible Children crafted a thirty-minute video depicting Kony’s rampage by catering to a youthful Facebook audience, keying into emotional first-hand accounts and proposing a “sexy, graphic, cause-braceleted plan,” according to the Washington Post. The video asks viewers to first and foremost raise awareness, in addition to donating money, contacting their local representatives and buying “Action Kits.”
Donating 30 dollars to the company in the form of an Action Kit gets you a pack of posters to spread on the designated world-wide Cover the Night movement of April 20, 2012 and two bracelets to wear, one for you and one for a friend. It seems like activists can’t function without the promotion of public wear (anyone remember the Livestrong bracelets of 2004?).
There is nothing wrong with raising awareness, but there is something wrong when that is all you are raising. Only about one third of the money donated to Invisible Children actually goes toward Central Africa programs. The rest of the donations go toward more awareness-raising campaigns.
The truth is, awareness is too often an excuse for people to feel better when they haven’t taken any action. What is the point of raising awareness? If you didn’t already know about child soldier armies, like Kony’s, you must have been living under a rock. We know that these problems are ongoing, and an overnight sensation in the form of a YouTube video is not going to solve them. Sharing this video on Facebook is not going to solve Uganda’s problems either. In a Today Show interview with Jason Russell, Ann Curry even suggested that the Kony 2012 movement was “slacktivism.”
The irony through all of this awareness-raising is that the majority of supporters of Kony 2012 are unaware themselves of the organization. Invisible Children does not cooperate with the Better Business Bureau and received a mediocre grade from Charity Navigator. Foreign Affairs claims that Invisible Children skewed facts in its Kony 2012 film. Invisible Children also supports the Ugandan government, which is just as corrupt, if not more, than Kony and the LRA. Russell even hinted that Invisible Children has an evangelical backing. And, once again, only about one-third of money donated goes directly toward Central Africa.
On top of all of this, Kony isn’t even the power-house he was once previously considered. His numbers are down to only 200 children, which has dropped significantly since his peak about ten years ago. He’s not even believed to be in Uganda anymore and is supposedly sick and dying.
People watch the video that portrays the watered-down issues and fail to research the more complex realities at hand. Throwing money at the situation is not going to alleviate it, even if it does lessen your guilt. The unfortunate aspect of Kony 2012 is the awareness complex. Yes, we are aware, and we will continue to be aware with the mass of Kony propaganda to come, but making a change goes beyond awareness. Change requires careful action on the part of supporters and researching your options. Helping end Kony and the LRA is possible, but only if you figure out what exactly you’re supporting first.