Visible Children

Here it goes again.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:50:00 -0400

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 little review.

An open letter to an Invisible Children counter-movement.

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:53:05 -0400

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 programming especially problematic: if postering is a poor method of fostering political discourse, defacing posters is several steps down the credibility ladder.

I am highly dubious of your motivation in advising me that a member of a PR firm is Christian - is that intended to make me doubt his character? This bigoted view is revealing. Fight propaganda with the fair pursuit of balanced truths, not with propaganda of your own.

Your petition calls for US legislation which would, as I read it, eliminate anonymous internet use. Quoting a law which you admit does not apply to to the internet, you appear to complain that it was not made clear what organization paid for the KONY 2012 film. You then go on to call for military withdrawal from Central Africa without proposing any alternative solution. My unsolicited feedback for you would be to focus your organization on one cause or the other, although I find neither cause to be particularly valid in their current state. In your petition you also refer to the fact that some Christian groups have supported Invisible Children, implying negativity without justifying this bigotry.

As a final note, if you had taken the time to read my writing carefully, you would note that the photo you are referring to is not mine but belongs to a talented professional photojournalist named Glenna Gordon, whom you ought be crediting - and that the photo is not at all of “the Invisible Children founders posing with the Ugandan military” as you claim, but with members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). If this is indicative of the general level of research you have conducted, this alone is reason for me not to endorse your ill-conceived campaign.

Please refrain from linking to my blog or any further action which may be seen to imply my endorsement. I have posted this response to your email on my blog, and would appreciate your permission to publish your side of the correspondence as well, along with a link to your website - but I will not do so without your permission, which I understand you may be reluctant to give. I urge you, however, to consider it. We must allow people to make their own decisions, and as you well know, there are two sides to every story.

Regards,

Grant Oyston
Visible Children - KONY 2012, viewed critically.

Truly extraordinary. This appears to be an example of some...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:44:00 -0400

Truly extraordinary. This appears to be an example of some mind-blowingly misleading video-editing from Invisible Children.

Skip to 3:00, featuring an event last week in Gulu, N. Uganda, screening KONY 2012. In the video, it looks like people are rallying in support of Invisible Children. Here’s what really went down, from the Daily Monitor, a Ugandan newspaper:

“At least 10,000 people gathered at [the stadium] 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 live bullets in the air, injuring dozens, who also lost valuables including phones and money.”

Looks like this bit didn’t make it into their video. Fun project: Tweet @invisible if you’d like an explanation from them. You can also tweet at famous people!

What YOU should be doing about Joseph Kony.

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:14:00 -0400

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 read this guide.

If you read nothing else, read section I (“A Brief Guide to the LRA & Joseph Kony”) and section V (“What Can We Do about Uganda and the LRA?”). There’s also a section for teachers and students containing questions to ask and consider regarding the film, and a section of additional resources for further reading. Please read this.

Hat tip to Amber Ha at the Un-Cover The Night project, which seeks to inform Cover The Night participants on April 20th about the complexities of these issues.

Massive riot erupts in Northern Uganda against Invisible Children.

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:08:00 -0400

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 live bullets in the air, injuring dozens, who also lost valuables including phones and money.”

Archbishop of Gulu Arch Diocese and member of Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, Rt. Rev John Baptist Odama, said: “Invisible Children has done a commendable job during the conflict, they started when we slept in town streets with children and paying school fees for stranded children. However the Kony 2012 video has tricked them into war mongering instead of helping them. It’s the right time they should rethink their position.”

Thanks to Holly Elissa of Caleb’s Hope (an NGO operating in Northern Uganda) for sending me a scan of the article, which I couldn’t find online anywhere. I’ve typed it up for anyone who’d like to read it here.

Ugandans riot over KONY 2012 screening, again.

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:02:00 -0400

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 streets were flooded with soldiers after that. They have lost credibility even locally.”

I apologize that I am not able to name my source for this due to security concerns.

Controversy: Did Invisible Children provide intelligence for Ugandan military?

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:59:00 -0400

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 Browning) to the Secretary of State, claims that Komakech (who had previously been featured in Invisible Children films) had been arrested by the Ugandan government for treason and extortion, thanks to a tip from Invisible Children regarding his location. The cable reads, in part:

“The latest plot was exposed when the Government received a tip from the U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) Invisible Children regarding the location of Patrick Komekech.* […] Invisible Children reported that Komekech had been in Nairobi and had recently reappeared in Gulu, where he was staying with the NGO. Security organizations jumped on the tip and immediately arrested Komekech on March 5 [of 2009].”

Invisible Children has denied their involvement, with Uganda spokesperson Florence Ogola saying, “We are not involved in anything to do with security. We only deal with development.” A further spokeperson told Foreign Policy: “[W]e do not conduct intelligence efforts of any kind for a foreign government.”

This story hasn’t really been picked up by mainstream media yet, so I’m going to break with my rule of not asking for reblogs and ask you to please reblog this if you think it’s worthy of media attention.

*Spelling of Mr. Komakech’s name is currently unclear – Foreign Policy and the Daily Monitor both spell it as “Komakech”, while the original cables from Mr. Browning spell it “Komekech”

Young people changing the world.

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:36:00 -0400

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 “misinformed and naive”, as Invisible Children’s PR firm eloquently described it.

Actually, the best and most thought-provoking questions I’ve received came from “young people” in a series of discussions I had over Skype with students in Pennsylvania. “What are you actually doing to help?”, they asked. “What changes would you have made to the movie?” “Would it be better if the movie never existed?” What I saw was a group of young people excited about making a difference. If Kony 2012 is an ad, it’s selling the feeling that you can change the world. Everybody wants to change the world, and young people most of all.

The message Invisible Children is sending is that anybody can change the world, and it’s easy. Watch the movie, share it with your friends, tweet at some famous people, and if you get really excited, put up some posters. I’d like to change their message slightly, although mine isn’t as catchy:

Anybody can change the world, but it’s difficult. And you should do it anyway.

Doing what Invisible Children wants may have an impact, but real, thoughtful activism – actual world-changing – is difficult. It takes significant motivation and concentrated effort. It takes research and organization and planning and discussion, and it’s not easy. But very little that’s worth doing is easy. Anybody can change the world, but it’s difficult. And you should do it anyway.

~ Grant Oyston

Grant Oyston is a sociology and political science student at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada, and is the the National Communications Chair of CISV, a nonprofit that hosts international friendship-building programs in over 60 countries for people as young as 11.

Make Kony famous? No thanks, says Uganda.

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:20:00 -0400

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 items with his image. One victim was applauded upon saying, ‘If you care for us the victims, you will respect our feelings and acknowledge how hurting it is for us to see you mobilizing the world to make Kony famous, the guy who is the world most wanted criminal.’ It was very hurtful for victims and their families to see posters, bracelets and t-shirts, all looking like a slick marketing campaign, promoting the person most responsible for their shattered lives. One young man who lost four brothers and one of his arms said afterwards: ‘How can anybody expect a person to wear a T-shirt with Kony’s name on it?’ Many people were asking: ‘Why give such criminals celebrity status? Why not make the plight of the victims and the war-ravaged communities, people whose sufferings are real and visible, the focus of a campaign to help?’

“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.”

For those of you currently sporting Joseph Kony bracelets and t-shirts, perhaps this is a good time to consider the message you’re communicating, and how that message is perceived by those whom it is intended to be aiding.

EDIT: For those who aren’t “getting it”, try this fun experiment: make a bracelet that says “HITLER” on it and see how long it takes until someone punches you.

Invisible Children answers questions.

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:04:26 -0400

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 requests
How big is the LRA?
Partnerships

3.13.12
After Kony is Captured?
Third Party Audit?
IC Promoting Vandalism?
Government Involvement?
Why Your Cause?

As always, please view and share.

May also be of interest: this video promoting a youth conference...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:55:00 -0400

May also be of interest: this video promoting a youth conference called Fourth Estate, which Charlie Brooker described as “sinister.” I suggest watching all of it but if you don’t have time, go to 1:20 and 2:00. Script is by their now-Director of Ideology, Jedidiah Jenkins.

Some critics have been digging up old material from IC -...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:41:00 -0400

Some critics have been digging up old material from IC - they’re quite a prolific organization! I had a hard time deciding whether to post this or not, because this is from 2006, but as long as everyone’s aware that yes, it’s old, I think it’s genuinely worth seeing.

I encourage you to check it out and skip to 3:18 if you don’t have seven minutes. To be fair, this is also the year High School Musical came out and became a blockbuster hit amongst their target audience!

KONY 2012 filmmaker detained for alleged public masturbation, drunkenness, vandalism

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:19:00 -0400

KONY 2012 filmmaker detained for alleged public masturbation, drunkenness, vandalism:

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.

Invisible Children responds to KONY 2012 filmmaker's alleged public masturbation

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:18:00 -0400

“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, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.”

I would like to wish Jason a speedy recovery.

Misinformed and naive.

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:52:00 -0400

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 Jesse and Invisible Children thinks Rosebell Kagumire, an award-winning Ugandan journalist with a Master’s in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies, is naive in her criticisms.

Or if Adam Branch, senior research fellow at the Makerere Institute of Social Research, Uganda, and author of Displacing Human Rights: War and Intervention in Northern Uganda, is naive in his criticisms.

Or if Arthur Larok, Action Aid’s country director for Uganda, with a Master’s Degree in Governance and Development and nine years of service as the Director of Programmes at the Uganda National NGO Forum, is naive in his criticisms.

Or if TMS Ruge, a Ugandan and co-founder of Project Diaspora, a group seeking to involve Africa in its own development, is naive in his criticisms.

And I’d really, really like to know if Invisible Children thinks Anywar Ricky Richard, a former child soldier in the LRA and director of northern Ugandan organization Friends of Orphans, is naive in his criticisms.

Show me the money.

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:48:00 -0400

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 to Jedidiah Jenkins, Invisible Children’s Director of Ideology:

“Thirty-seven percent of our budget goes directly to central African-related programs, about 20 percent goes to salaries and overhead, and the remaining 43 percent goes to our awareness programs. […] But aside from that, the truth about Invisible Children is that we are not an aid organization, and we don’t intend to be. I think people think we’re over there delivering shoes or food. But we are an advocacy and awareness organization.”

Yes, you heard it from Invisible Children: more money goes to awareness than to Africa.

More detailed breakdown from the Guardian’s Julian Borger, John Vidal, and Rosebell Kagumire in Kampala, Uganda:

“Invisible Children’s accounts show it is a cash rich operation, which more than tripled its income to $9m (£5.68m) in 2011, mainly from personal donations. Of this, nearly 25% was spent on travel and film-making. Most of the money raised has been spent in the US. The accounts show $1.7m went on US employee salaries, $850,000 in film production costs, $244,000 in “professional services” – thought to be Washington lobbyists – and $1.07m in travel expenses. Nearly $400,000 was spent on offices in San Diego.”

Information about how they intend to spend their windfall 2012 revenue of a bare minimum of $15M has not been released, but as I wrote earlier, at least $3000 would’ve gone to flying me to both San Diego and Africa had I allowed them to do so. (Story behind that at the bottom of this post.) If I were Invisible Children, I’d start talking about where this new money’s going. I’m emailing Jason and Ben a link to this post to see if they’re willing to post a financial plan for the year ahead - is there yet another film in store?

Boing Boing's roundup of African responses to KONY 2012

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:54:19 -0500

Boing Boing's roundup of African responses to KONY 2012:

I was going to do this post but Boing Boing’s already done it. Please read this.

What to do?

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:54:00 -0500

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 Africa isn’t the most productive course of action, although it’s an option you can certainly consider.

I am not endorsing any alternative organization for a few reasons. I don’t think a perfect NGO exists, and my message is that you should think critically before making up your mind. Where you choose to give your energy and resources should be an educated, personal decision based on a balanced understanding, not media hype. Some will feel that it’s ironic of me to argue that NGOs aren’t perfect while criticizing one harshly, but all NGOs should be subject to criticism, and both Jason Russell (the filmmaker) and Ben Keesey (the CEO of Invisible Children) have spoken with me and were appreciative of the critical response they are receiving. Although they don’t agree with the majority of the criticisms, they understand that organizations, like people, need criticism to develop and learn from. Whether another organization is “better” than Invisible Children depends on your perspective, and isn’t something I can answer in a straightforward manner.

I will, however, put in a good word for an NGO which takes a radically different approach to peace: CISV International. CISV operates in over 60 countries around the world and is focused on bringing about peace through immersive educational programmes. Founded in 1951, over 200,000 people have participated in CISV programmes, which bring people from around the world together in programs for youth starting at age 11. If you know children or teens hungry to learn more about peace and conflict in an international context, I’d suggest that you check out CISV. It takes a very different, less direct approach to peace, but it’s an organization worthy of your consideration, operated primarily by hundreds of volunteers and a very small group of paid staff. List of national websites here. And before I’m accused, I have never received money from them, although I have volunteered with the organization for several years. Is it better than IC? I don’t think I can answer that. It has completely different goals and a completely different approach. Do your research!

~ Grant Oyston

Success?

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:19:00 -0500

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 and KONY 2012.

At the time I started writing, there was little-to-no coverage in mainstream media of the critical response to KONY 2012, and now there is. There’s no way of knowing how much of that was related to visiblechildren.tumblr.com but I’m confident in saying that some of it was. As more qualified development professionals, academics, journalists and activists are now having their concerns heard, my preference is that media now focuses on their voices - especially those coming from the affected areas.

I’ve had many great conversations the last few days, received plenty of death threats too, and had the opportunity to speak with Jason (the filmmaker behind the campaign) and Ben (the CEO of Invisible Children) by phone.* It’s been an adventure.

There’s a reason most problems in global politics are difficult: the easy problems are fixed quickly and the hard ones stick around. But whatever you do, I urge you: don’t stop caring. Engage those around you in informed discussion, and get involved. There’s lots of work to be done.

~ Grant Oyston

*As an aside, Jason offered to fly me out to San Diego to meet with IC, and later in the conversation, offered to fly me to visit their projects in Africa. It would’ve cost Invisible Children at least $3000 in flights alone. I would’ve loved to go, but said no only because if I donated to IC, I wouldn’t want my money going towards flying a blogger to Africa. But that’s a whole different conversation.

We got trouble.

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:00:00 -0500

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 evil man. But despite this, I’m strongly opposed to the KONY 2012 campaign.

KONY 2012 is the product of a group called Invisible Children, a controversial activist group and not-for-profit. They’ve released 11 films, most with an accompanying bracelet colour (KONY 2012 is fittingly red), all of which focus on Joseph Kony. When we buy merch from them, when we link to their video, when we put up posters linking to their website, we support the organization. I don’t think that’s a good thing, and I’m not alone.

Invisible Children has been condemned time and time again. As a registered not-for-profit, its finances are public. Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct services (page 6), with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production. This is far from ideal for an issue which arguably needs action and aid, not awareness, and Charity Navigator rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they lack an external audit committee.* But it goes way deeper than that.

The group is in favour of direct military intervention, and their money supports the Ugandan government’s army and various other military forces. Here’s a photo of the founders of Invisible Children posing with weapons and personnel of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Both the Ugandan army and Sudan People’s Liberation Army are riddled with accusations of rape and looting, but Invisible Children defends them, arguing that the Ugandan army is “better equipped than that of any of the other affected countries”, although Kony is no longer active in Uganda and hasn’t been since 2006 by their own admission. These books each refer to the rape and sexual assault that are perennial issues with the UPDF, the military group Invisible Children is defending.

Still, the bulk of Invisible Children’s spending isn’t on supporting African militias, but on awareness and filmmaking. Which can be great, except that Foreign Affairs has claimed that Invisible Children (among others) “manipulates facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA’s use of innocent children as soldiers, and portraying Kony — a brutal man, to be sure — as uniquely awful, a Kurtz-like embodiment of evil.” He’s certainly evil, but exaggeration and manipulation to capture the public eye is unproductive, unprofessional and dishonest.

As Chris Blattman, a political scientist at Yale, writes on the topic of IC’s programming, “There’s also something inherently misleading, naive, maybe even dangerous, about the idea of rescuing children or saving of Africa. […] It hints uncomfortably of the White Man’s Burden. Worse, sometimes it does more than hint. The savior attitude is pervasive in advocacy, and it inevitably shapes programming. Usually misconceived programming.”

Still, Kony’s a bad guy, and he’s been around a while. Which is why the US has been involved in stopping him for years. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has sent multiple missions to capture or kill Kony over the years. And they’ve failed time and time again, each provoking a ferocious response and increased retaliative slaughter. The issue with taking out a man who uses a child army is that his bodyguards are children. Any effort to capture or kill him will almost certainly result in many children’s deaths, an impact that needs to be minimized as much as possible. Each attempt brings more retaliation. And yet Invisible Children supports military intervention. Kony has been involved in peace talks in the past, which have fallen through. But Invisible Children is now focusing on military intervention.

Military intervention may or may not be the right idea, but people supporting KONY 2012 probably don’t realize they’re supporting the Ugandan military who are themselves raping and looting away. If people know this and still support Invisible Children because they feel it’s the best solution based on their knowledge and research, I have no issue with that. But I don’t think most people are in that position, and that’s a problem.

Is awareness good? Yes. But these problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, frankly, aren’t of the nature that can be solved by postering, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture, as hard as that is to swallow. Giving your money and public support to Invisible Children so they can spend it on supporting ill-advised violent intervention and movie #12 isn’t helping. Do I have a better answer? No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that you should support KONY 2012 just because it’s something. Something isn’t always better than nothing. Sometimes it’s worse.

If you want to write to your Member of Parliament or your Senator or the President or the Prime Minister, by all means, go ahead. If you want to post about Joseph Kony’s crimes on Facebook, go ahead. But let’s keep it about Joseph Kony, not KONY 2012.

~ Grant Oyston

EDIT: Please read Invisible Children’s response here.

*FURTHER EDIT: Charity Navigator has explained their ratings here.