The Kony 2012 campaign has demonstrated the powers of social media and advertising. Kony 2012 was a campaign that carried a story about suffering children in Uganda that were stolen from their homes in the middle of the night and forced to join a renegade children’s army. This story touched the hearts of many and the views on the video continued to grow and grow.
Kony 2012 caused a lot of confusion, especially for the Ugandan citizens and Northern Africans who saw the video, as they believed that Joseph Kony has not been seen in Uganda for over five years. Criticisms of the members and heads of Invisible Children also showed connections to more controversial aspects of the Ugandan government, like that of the Anti-Homosexual Bill proposed by Julius Oyet and David Bahat, and to conservative Christian groups who have been vocal players in the discrimination of the LGBT community. Even Jason Russel, the co-founder of the Invisible Children has been criticized for the using his son in the video as a marketing tool and for his mental breakdown that caused him to fly into a naked violent rage in public.
Kony 2012 could have failed for many others reasons, like how short-lived many campaigns are in a now-digital world, or it could have failed due to the problems with Joseph Kony no longer even being in Uganda. It also could have failed due to the good intentions of trying to help children, but by only also supporting a government that proposes laws that deem homosexuals as a danger to Uganda and encourages the elimination of gay and lesbian Ugandans through death or life imprisonment.
How Social Media changed Activism: Kony 2012
ACC3004 - Social Media 