Salon.com > Joseph Kony

Must-see morning clip: Hunting Joseph Kony

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:14:00 +0000

A crew from CBS's "60 Minutes" joined a Ugandan tracking team on a mission is to find and capture warlord Joseph Kony, who is responsible for building one of the largest child armies in history. U.S. involvement in the mission is part of a broader goal to disband an emerging threat of terrorism in Africa, reports Lara Logan:

There’s money in the white savior complex

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:46:00 +0000

U.S.-based non-profit Invisible Children responded directly on Monday to criticism over its widely popular Kony 2012 campaign, a viral video that has drawn tens of millions of viewers and major celebrity endorsements. However, despite the group’s best efforts, the campaign is still taking heat over its portrayal of Africans as victims whose only hope lay in the actions — and wallets — of white saviors. And critics say it’s that centuries-old narrative that’s in part responsible for the campaign’s viral success.

In a video that clocks in at just over eight minutes, Invisible Children’s CEO Ben Keesey attempted to reinforce his organization’s commitment to ending political unrest in Uganda.

“I understand why people are wondering is this is just some slick, kind of fly-by-night slacktivist thing,” Keesey says in the video, “when actually it’s not at all…. It’s connected to a really deep, thoughtful, very intentional and strategic campaign.”

Uganda’s outrage over Kony 2012

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:38:00 +0000

KAMPALA, Uganda — Kony 2012 may have received more than 73 million hits on YouTube since its release on the internet on March 5.

But in Uganda it is a flop.

Top Ugandan officials denounce the video — created to raise awareness about Joseph Kony, the leader of the brutal Lord's Resistance Army operating in central Africa — as false. Kony's LRA, they say, has not operated in Uganda for years.

Other Ugandans slam the video as the work of privileged young foreigners. Critics around the world have been vociferous, too. But most Ugandans have not even seen the Kony 2012 video, produced by the American NGO Invisible Children, because the internet is not widely accessible.

Among those who haven't seen it, but are still outspokenly critical is Pius Bigirimana, who is in charge of the reconstruction of northern Uganda from the devastation of the LRA.

“Anybody portraying Uganda to still have insecurity is a sadist. That person is a liar and is peddling falsehoods,” said Bigirimana.

Too simple, too dumb

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:20:00 +0000

In Syria, fighting continues with a drastic toll on human life. In Libya, thousands remain imprisoned as allegations of torture conducted against former pro-Gadhafi fighters proliferate. Israel and the United States continue to debate the possibility of attacking Iran, which has pressed on with its nuclear program.

Yet, as a result of Invisible Children's film and campaign "KONY2012," the attention of much of the world has homed in on Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in the abduction and murder of thousands of civilians in East Africa.

The San Diego-based organization seeks to spread the word about LRA atrocities, focusing particularly on the fate of children. They have built an impressive network in the U.S. and Canada. For the past several years, Invisible Children's strategy involved having groups "of five 'roadies' fan out to college campuses and churches throughout the United States and Canada.” In doing so, over the years Invisible Children has built a penetrating presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. With "KONY2012" they tapped into it – and then some.

The trouble with “crowd-sourced intervention”

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Invisible Children has recently raised the global profile of Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army through its hugely successful #K0NY2012 media campaign. The Kings of War blog calls the campaign "crowd sourced intervention." Like Mark Kertsen, I do not intend to take aim at Invisible Children as an organization, but the group's success makes it more urgent to debunk some of the myths now surrounding the LRA, U.S. intervention and foreign advocacy.

The popularity of the viral video raises the question: Why did Washington start sending advisors to help the Ugandan army track down the notorious Kony in late 2011? Down to several hundred fighters and stuck moving between these four countries, Kony was still a monster and a danger to regional security, but his scale had been reduced.