Clarissa Stewart
Triangle Reporter
As various candidates vie for the presidential nomination, the year 2012 is marked by its campaigns. However, with the introduction of the KONY 2012 video by Invisible Children, a different type of campaign has begun aimed to bring down African warlord Joseph Kony.
The viral KONY 2012 video released Monday, March 5 has not only gained millions of views but also harsh criticism from those who see the video as giving misleading information.
The KONY 2012 video, made and narrated by Co-founder and Film-maker for Invisible Children Jason Russell, centers on Joseph Kony, the leader of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), known for causing turmoil in Uganda by killing families and kidnapping over 30,000 children.
The purpose of the video, as stated by Russell, is to “make Joseph Kony a household name” to increase support of Americans to capture Kony and bring him to justice.
According to an article in the Los Angeles times by Brian Bennett and Robyn Dixon on Oct. 15, 2011, President Barack Obama issued 100 special forces troops to central Africa to help stop the LRA. Through the support of Americans, Russell hope the United States Government will feel pressure to increase support.
The 30 minute video concludes by explaining the plan the KONY 2012 video promotes.
Russell explains they aim to “target twenty culture-makers and twelve policy-makers to use their power for good” so the message of the video may be promoted both socially and politically.
The image of the KONY 2012 campaign is an elephant and donkey, two animals traditionally associated with the republican and democratic parties respectfully, coming together. Where the heads of the animals come together a white dove holding what appears to be an olive branch is formed.
“Our goal is to change the conversation of our culture and get people to ask, ‘Who is Joseph Kony?’” said Russell. He goes on to urge viewers to sign an online petition showing their support, buy a $30 action kit (including two bracelets, a t-shirt, a booklet, posters, and stickers) and donate money to help the cause.
Many see this video as promoting a worthy cause, as evidenced by the 81,045,898 views on YouTube including 1,345,616 ‘likes.’ But there have also been 111,915 dislikes; evidence of the negative reactions the video has received.
The KONY 2012 video will be shown on Bryan’s campus on Monday, March 26 at 7:30p.m. in the library. This viewing will be administered by representatives from Invisible Children and is sponsored by SSTOP (Students Stopping Trafficking of Persons).
According to Rose Prince, SSTOP administrative assistant, the team is also working to get “Cover the Night” which will take place on April 20 at University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) to be an approved SSTOP event. “Cover the Night” events will occur in cities all over the United States that night in an effort to increase awareness of the KONY 2012 campaign by putting up thousands of posters.
However, despite this support, the video has also received a lot of criticism.
Many of these negative opinions stem from accusations that the video presents inaccurate information. According Joshua Keating, in an article written March 7, 2012 for Foreign Policy Magazine, Kony is not presently in Uganda and has not been for six years. He also says the LRA’s numbers have dwindled significantly since Kony fled from Uganda.
Keating writes though it would be great to completely stop the LRA, but “it is unclear how millions of well-meaning but misinformed people are going to help deal with the more complicated reality.”
The issue becomes increasingly complicated as Russell was detained by San Diego Police last Thursday for inappropriate public behavior including interfering with traffic while naked. Friday he was hospitalized for exhaustion and dehydration.
In a video released from Invisible Children on March 17, Ben Keesy, CEO of Invisible Children, explains the staff expected 500,000 people to view the video and are overwhelmed with the response the video has received.
“It came with the attention and the pressure of the global media spotlight” said Keesy. He explains it was hard for everyone, but specifically for Russell because of the personal nature of the video.
“That pressure took a serious toil on him and unfortunately the whole world saw that.”
In a letter written by Russell’s wife, she assures supporters that Russell does not have substance abuse problems, but says, “he did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion.”
The letter ends by saying, “We’ll take care of Jason, you take care of the work. The message of the film remains the same: stop at nothing.”
Prince says even in light of recent events, SSTOP still plans to show the KONY 2012 video.
“It doesn’t change anything. He’s just going through some issues, but it doesn’t change what the program stands for. It doesn’t change the message that SSTOP supports, that Invisible Children supports, that we’re trying to spread; it’s just him going through some personal medical issues,” she said.