September 2012
1 post
Here it goes again.
Hi there, to the 17,322 people who still follow Visible Children! I’m the guy who wrote the Visible Children series of critical articles about that movie, KONY 2012, here with some exciting news for you: THERE’S A NEW ONE. It’s called Move and you can see it here. It’s midterm season for me, but when I’ve got some time, I’ll take a look and probably write a...
April 2012
6 posts
8 tags
An open letter to an Invisible Children...
Hopefully this serves as an open letter to all counter-movements and everyone who feels that they are “against” Invisible Children.
Hi (names redacted),
I made a decision very early not to support any counter-movements - my goal is to encourage discourse, not put down the efforts of an organization which has, despite its faults, served thousands of victims well. I find your...
7 tags
What YOU should be doing about Joseph Kony.
If you’re looking to learn more about Joseph Kony and the LRA, and develop an informed opinion, I cannot imagine a better guide than React and Respond: The Phenomenon of Kony 2012, released last week by the African Studies Association. It’ll only take you ten minutes to read and you’ll probably learn more than you did in Kony 2012 Part I and II combined. You owe it to yourself to...
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Massive riot erupts in Northern Uganda against...
From a recent article in the Daily Monitor, a Ugandan newspaper:
“At least 10,000 people gathered at [Pece War Memorial Stadium in Gulu, Uganda] to watch the Kony 2012 video. Dissatisfied with the content, the crowd pelted the organisers with stones, injuring a police officer identified as Pamela Inenu and two musicians hired to sing at the event. Police fired teargas at the crowd, and...
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Ugandans riot over KONY 2012 screening, again.
According to an Acholi Ugandan source who works as a Program Director for an NGO in Gulu:
“Invisible Children continue to have more trouble with the video and over the weekend in Gulu, as they attempted to screen the video for the public, it turned in to chaos and everyone started fighting for his life with multiple gun shots and some rioting with tear gas and ended prematurely! The...
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Controversy: Did Invisible Children provide...
According to diplomatic notes leaked last year by whistle-blower site Wikileaks, Invisible Children tipped off the Ugandan government about the location of Patrick Komakech, now under arrest for treason. Komakech had been involved in a rebel group (the PPF) seeking to overthrow the current President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni.
The June, 2009 cable, from the US Ambassador to Uganda (Steven...
March 2012
18 posts
5 tags
Young people changing the world.
Thoughts for young people from the author of Visible Children.
Since this all started two weeks ago, I’ve occasionally been criticized for the attention my blog has received on the basis that, as a university student, my opinion shouldn’t be as widely-read as it has been. I guess the logic is that because I’m a “young person”, my opinion is less valuable, or...
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Make Kony famous? No thanks, says Uganda.
From an article published by AYINET, a grassroots organization that works with young LRA victims, and which organized a screening of KONY 2012 in Lira, N. Uganda, attended by thousands:
“The film’s overall messages were very upsetting to many audience members.
“In particular, viewers were outraged by the KONY 2012 campaign’s strategy to make Kony famous and their marketing of...
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Invisible Children answers questions.
Remarkably, nobody has sent me these links. My goal has always been to promote discussion and debate about KONY 2012, so I’m happy to offer you Invisible Children’s video responses to some questions they’re receiving on Twitter.
3.16.12
Is military the solution?
Origins of advocacy
Is there already peace?
Other NGOs
3.14.12
Why Support the UPDF?
Finding Kony
Speaking...
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KONY 2012 filmmaker detained for alleged public... →
From NBC San Diego: Jason Russell, the filmmaker behind KONY 2012, was “allegedly found masturbating in public [and] vandalizing cars. […] Police said they received several calls yesterday at 11:30 a.m. of a man in various stages of undress, running through traffic and screaming. Police described him as ‘in his underwear.’” AMA here.
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Invisible Children responds to KONY 2012...
“Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many,...
3 tags
Misinformed and naive.
From a Canadian Press interview with a New York PR firm hired by Invisible Children:
“With all due respect, I think [Mr. Oyston’s] criticisms and things he’s written are important but are a little misinformed and naive,” said Jesse Derris of Sunshine, Sachs & Associates.
To which I shrug and say, “This isn’t about me.”
However, I’m keen to know if...
8 tags
Show me the money.
According to Jason Russell’s appearance on the Today show several days ago, over 500,000 action kits have been ordered at $30 a piece, meaning this campaign has brought in a minimum of $15M in revenue this week. This is great news: at least 500,000 people are “advocate[s] of awesome” according to the group’s webstore! So where’s that money going? I’ll leave it...
Boing Boing's roundup of African responses to KONY... →
I was going to do this post but Boing Boing’s already done it. Please read this.
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What to do?
A lot of people have been asking what form their action should take, but frankly, I don’t feel that it’s my business to tell you what to do about Joseph Kony. I’d suggest finding an NGO you like, whether it’s IC or not, researching them, and supporting them with your time and/or resources. Unless you have specialist skills or expertise, it’s likely that a trip to...
Success?
It’s been an adventure the last few days for me personally. This page has had over 2.2 million visitors, and today I’ve turned down media requests from Al Jazeera English, FOX, NBC’s Today show and BBC World Service. Why? Because my opinion isn’t what’s relevant. What’s relevant is that credible sources around the world are writing critically about Joseph Kony...
7 tags
We got trouble.
Please note that posting date has been edited to keep this at the top of the page. Post written March 7, 2012. Many more updates have followed at visiblechildren.tumblr.com which cites all sources, and a “best-of” those updates is available here.
I do not doubt for a second that those involved in KONY 2012 have great intentions, nor do I doubt for a second that Joseph Kony is a very...
Not alone.
I’m not alone in my criticism. Many others have shared their concerns, and I am pleased to see an explosion in the amount of ongoing discussion. A brief reading list for anyone who wants to understand what’s going on:
Joseph Kony and Crowdsourced Intervention - Jack McDonald, Kings of War - McDonald, of the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, writes about the...
Please read and share Invisible Children's... →
This is precisely the sort of information I was hoping they would be more up-front with. Please read this - it’s great that IC is providing this resource.
FAQs
Your numbers are wrong.
I’m talking about the amount of money that Invisible Children spends on active aid, as opposed to advocacy. I understand that their mission is largely focused on advocacy – my question is whether this is what’s best at this point in the conflict.
They’re working on the CharityNavigator score.
Great! I think Invisible Children does lots of great work. I...
What was my intent?
When I wrote this, there was almost no ongoing discussion of KONY 2012.
I am not an expert - there are flaws in my rhetoric, and I appreciate people taking the time to find them, just as there are flaws in Invisible Children’s. I’m a second-year Political Science student, not an expert, and the audience for this post was originally a group of approximately 30 friends whom it was...
Got a better idea?
A lot of people are bemoaning the perceived negative tone of my article, which wasn’t necessarily my intent. The article below is written to create discourse on issues I feel are important, and to a degree I am playing devil’s advocate.
People are looking at alternative ways to support Central Africa and those impacted more directly, with less focus on awareness and more on action....
