Since the 1980s, Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has been allegedly abducting African children and forcing them into his Lord’s Resistance Army, but many people were unaware of his existence until Invisible Children’s “Kony 2012” video went viral on March 5.
In this 30-minute documentary, Invisible Children’s founder Jason Russell introduces his organization’s campaign to make Joseph Kony “famous” so the world can learn about his alleged crimes. In the video, he tells the story of his friendship with a Ugandan boy named Jacob, who spent much of his life fleeing the LRA; Russell said he promised Jacob that he would do whatever he could to help bring Kony to justice.
Sophomore Sabrina Ruiz said she thought the video was “very inspiring” and said she was encouraged by the way Russell is trying to keep his promise to Jacob.
“Many people would see what he’s doing as very radical [and think], ‘Oh, they’re not going to accomplish anything,'” Ruiz said. “But he’s accomplishing things, and now the message has reached all over the world.”
The “Kony 2012” video has garnered more than 80 million hits on YouTube within the past few weeks. But despite the campaign’s overwhelming popularity, it has become the target of much criticism from within the blogosphere and news organizations such as The Huffington Post and Fox News.
Critics have claimed that Invisible Children exaggerates statistics in its documentaries and that it also misuses their funds. Invisible Children has been open about the fact that more of its budget is spent on advocacy and awareness than actual aid.
While freshman Hunter Beck said he would like for Invisible Children to realize that Kony is not “the biggest issue” facing Uganda right now, he said he was all for Invisible Children’s move to raise awareness about Kony.
“Their main goal is raising awareness,” Beck said. “I don’t understand how people can make an issue about that when their goal is to bring the problem to light.”
In addition, there have also been negative reactions from the Ugandan citizens, who claim the video exaggerates Kony’s power and misrepresents what is happening in Uganda.
“There was a strong sense from the audience that the video was insensitive to African and Ugandan audiences and that it did not accurately portray the conflict or the victims,” Victor Ochen of the African Youth Initiative Network said in a statement released by the Associated Press. “In particular, viewers were outraged by the ‘Kony 2012′ campaign’s strategy to make Kony famous and their marketing of items with his image.”
According to the Associated Press’ story on Foxnews.com, Ugandan officials claim Kony is no longer a threat to Uganda and has only a few hundred combatants across Central Africa.
“[The] misinterpretations of media content may lead some people to believe that the LRA is currently active in Uganda,” said Fred Opolot, a Ugandan government spokesman to the AP. “They are a diminished and weakened group with numbers not exceeding 300.”
Sophomore Cole Pearson said he thinks Invisible Children’s focus should be on the children affected by Kony’s armies rather than Kony himself.
“There are a lot of efforts going on to help recuperate some of the children [who were victims of Kony],” Pearson said. “I think we should put a lot more effort in that because . . . that’s what’s going to make the difference in the end because he’s going to go down eventually.”
To view the video, visit kony2012.com.
