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Kony 2012

Joseph Kony, the leader of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in 2012 led the army to attack Ugandan villages, murdering, raping and mutilating anyone who stood in his way. He was also accused of abducting over 60,000 Ugandan children, turning the boys into brainwashed killing machines and the young girls into sex slaves. Kony's goals were mainly to overthrow Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and to establish a new Ugandan government based on the 10 Commandments. In 2012, an American charity named "Invisible Children" took the actions of the LRA, led by Kony and turned it into a short film, posting it on YouTube. It was the fastest growing viral video of all time, receiving over 100 million views. Kony had been wanted by the International Criminal Court since 2005 for crimes against humanity. The video gained a lot of media attention in the U.S. with help from social media sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Hundreds of thousands of people tweeted and posted with the hashtag "#stopkony" with the idea to shed light on Joseph Kony and his actions, making him famous so he could finally be held accountable for his actions. In 2008, the U.S. finally declares the LRA a terrorist group. They even sent 100 of their own troops to support Uganda in tracking Kony and taking him down. The Kony video resulted in never before seen international efforts to end Africa's longest lasting issue. Celebrities including Ryan Seacrest, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber even took to their social media accounts, asking their millions of followers help and join the cause. Even P. Diddy tweeted "Dear Joseph Kony, I'm Gonna help make you FAMOUS!!!! We will stop YOU #StopKONY ! All 6,000,000 of my followers Rt NOW!!! Pls!", according to USA Today. Proving that if people knew about an issue and were given the opportunity to help, they in fact would. Social justice campaigns have been using new media strategies to communicate to the public. Online distribution, podcasts and the new cultural norm of social media activism have been fused with traditional rallies, protests and lobbying efforts and have created a new type of change that is convenient for supporters. These new social platforms have made it possible for the public to be both the consumer and producer of media, making their efforts for change reach numbers of people at never before seen speed, like the Kony video.

Kony 2012 seemed to have come out of nowhere and created a huge buzz overnight, but many critics reviewed the video as oversimplified. Like Teju Cole, a Nigerian- American writer who tweeted out "Much as we might wish this to be a single issue with a clear solution, it isn't. It never was." The video and organization were created by philanthropic Americans, who often do not realize that situations as serious as the Kony ordeal are much more complicated to deal with than we think.

"Slacktivism" and "Hashtag Activism" are terms that have been around since the 90's. "Hashtag Activism" is the act of fighting for or supporting a cause that people are advocating through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other networking websites. Usually only lasts a week or two before the cause is completely forgotten." It seems like these days activism has become more "trendy" than ever. But how can we complain if this "trend" impacts and makes a difference in a myriad of ways. The proof is in the pudding. People are actually using social media to achieve their goals. In the case of Kony 2012, the video gained so much media attention that the African Union sent a force of 5,000 militants to help bring Kony to justice, along with 100 of the U.S. very own to aid in the same cause. We still do not have an update on his whereabouts. When it comes to social media activism, people tend to follow when it becomes a trend and when they see other Americans, especially celebrities advancing the issue. None of that matters though. I find that the main goal of media activism is to spread awareness. Awareness is its own form of protest. It can be as pointless as signing petitions or sending postcards to congress, which is equally passive. Or this social media activism can lead to mass media coverage, as it does often. I mean, social networks are basically running the industry at this point. Awareness almost always does something. Even if the result is small, it is usually measurable.

***Tamia, I thoroughly read the paragraph on Kony 2012 and enjoyed it but, I would like to see your opinion about this whole situation still going on in Uganda and how it affects us Americans today. Being in a completely different country should we have exploited more information on this silent issue? Is their a way you can compare this case study to something that does not require technology, but people reacting in person instead of using social media. For example in my sandbox I used the post election sticky notes that were taped on the subway walls. This had brought lots of attention to the people because it had to do with something that we are going through today in this generation. Do you think if we would have posted something today that is problematic with the kony issue, would it have brought more attention to the eye?

-Brianna Generoso