Invisible Children Brings the #Kony Movement to Seattle
Meet members of the team behind the viral video that’s making international news.
Posted by: Seth Sommerfeld on Mar 21, 2012 at 03:00PM
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Anyone who hopped on Facebook or Twitter a few weeks ago faced a barrage of people posting a video entitled “Kony 2012” (see below). The 30-minute documentary made by activist group Invisible Children aims to raise awareness about Joseph Kony, a wanted war criminal and leader of the Ugandan militant group Lord’s Resistance Army, and his use of child soldiers. IC hopes the increase in exposure will pressure policymakers to push for Kony’s arrest by the end of 2012—and they’ve certainly succeeded in getting the word out. Since being posted on March 5, the documentary has garnered over 100 million views between YouTube and Vimeo. Now Invisible Children brings its “Kony 2012” movement to Seattle with an event at office space Makers on April 6.
While Invisible Children heralds “Kony 2012” as a tipping point—finally prompting youth to care about international issues—scores of critics have emerged to question Invisible Children’s practices. The video has been accused of distorting the facts and oversimplifying the issues that exist in that region of Africa. Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi posted a video to YouTube stating that “Kony 2012” makes Uganda seem far more aggrieved than it actually is, and points out that Kony and his supporters fled the country six years ago. Additionally, many critics condemn the campaign for promoting "slacktivism"—where people do something that requires little to no effort, such as posting a video to Facebook or Twitter, in order to feel good about themselves by being vaguely attached to a cause.
Adding fire to the controversy, the face of Invisible Children, founder Jason Russell, had a very public meltdown in San Diego last week. Police had to detain him after he was found running naked in the streets yelling wildly and pounding his fists on the pavement (video of the event has also surfaced on TMZ). He’s been hospitalized, and will remain in treatment for weeks for what his family called ‘reactive psychosis’ brought on by ‘extreme exhaustion, stress, and dehydration.’
Regardless of the controversy, the new prominence of Invisible Children reiterates how powerful social media can be—not only as a reporting tool, but in the ways it shapes the modern news landscape. At the very least, the group’s Seattle stop should make for an interesting scene.
Invisible Children in Seattle
April 6 @ 7, Makers, 92 Lenora St, RSVP on Facebook
