You’ve probably seen Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 video. If not, please watch it.
This video has gone on to become way more successful and viral than Invisible Children could have planned. And it’s generating a firestorm of controversy. Unfortunately, some of the critics are inaccurate, inflammatory, and ignorant. However, some great, comprehensive reporting has come from this campaign.
I’ve worked with nonprofits for several years. Some of these articles do not understand how nonprofits work. To clear up some misconception: The government grants 501c(3) status to nonprofits, no one else. Nonprofits file taxes, a form 990. Nonprofits are independently audited, and their records are made available. This means that detractors with questions could have easily found answers, had they looked.
Also, the CEOs of IC each make about $80,000. And they are world travelers with families. Some are claiming that that is too high, that the founders are “lining their pockets”. The average CEO in the US makes $2,200, 000. Invisible Children CEOs make less than five percent of that, and are not “lining their pockets”.
Invisible Children won a contest for $1 million donated by Chase Bank. This does not mean their interests align with JP Morgan Chases’ military interests abroad. A nonprofit accepting money from an institution does not mean they implicitly or explicitly endorse of that organization’s intentions or actions, despite what some claim. [Edit: This linked article doesn't argue that IC endorses JP Morgan, but it does say that Chase is "very interested in Uganda’s assets and are looking for means to foster business-friendly awareness of Uganda’s problems for their own benefit." I don't think this means that IC should have rejected the donation, simply on the grounds that Chase's donation was selfish.]
Invisible Children is fighting for awareness of human rights violations. The Hague is calling for Kony’s arrest. IC is assisting. People who didn’t know of Kony are now familiar with the man and his methods. This is great progress, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.
I’ve been involved with Invisible Children for almost eight years now. I’ve been a TRI supporter since they started that campaign, I’ve held Invisible Children events, I’ve bought the merch, I’ve spread the word. In my opinion, they’ve changed as an organization since inception, to become less wide-eyed and a little more savvy. It’s open to debate if the direction they’ve taken is beneficial to the children targeted by the LRA. I appreciate that these issues are coming to the fore.
People feel entitled to libel them this week, now that they have multi-national attention. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’m not discrediting that. Of course we need to have rational thought about this, and all other important human rights issues.
I love that there is disagreement about this issue. It shows people are thinking critically. But I am incredibly frustrated by the cynical, faux-intellectual responses that this video is getting. I’ve been reading articles from people who think this video is overemotional “hipster” manipulation. Yes, it’s hipster, and yes it’s from an overprivileged, colonial standpoint. But look at who is running the business, and to whom this campaign is targeted. Would this video have gotten the attention it has if it wasn’t slick and shiny and had a crying Ugandan boy? I think not.
In retrospect, Invisible Children could have tidied up their financials and been friendlier with some of the auditing and rating third party organizations. But I don’t think they expected such a massive response to the video, and so many inquisitors.
Not everything about the Kony 2012 campaign is perfect, of course. I’m not sure the Ugandan army is the best partner for the work IC is planning to do in central Africa. I also don’t know that plastering Kony’s face everywhere is the best way to draw attention to his crimes. But I do agree that he should be tried in court for his crimes against humanity. Nor do I think that military invention is the best strategy.
Now, why 2012? After all their years of work, why are they starting this campaign now? I think it’s because Obama’s term is up in a few months. Imagine what Romney would do with the 100 American advisers on the ground in Uganda. I think IC is taking advantage of this pre-election news slump, along with an agreeable American president, to strike while the iron is hot. And in the wake of the Occupy protests, people are primed to take action while the powerful and rich do nothing. I think that’s why IC chose this year for this campaign. And I hope they chose correctly.
Don’t jump on the hater bandwagon. Go ahead and disagree. But use this video to prompt you to do what you think is right, not to trample what is shaping up to be the defining human rights issue of our generation.
Please read Invisible Children’s thorough and thoughtful response to criticism.
As a side note, I chose not to buy the Kony 2012 kit from IC. My husband is an artist, we don’t need to buy signs and artwork. We’ll attend Cover the Night with our own thoughts and artwork.
6 Comments
rock on, Stephanie.
What methods would you suggest, in place of canvasing public areas with Kony 2012 posters, to raise awareness?
Who would be a better partner than the Ugandan army? In the video, the map showed the LRA moving out of Uganda and into other countries in the region… that part puzzled me.
What would you suggest in place of military intervention? Are you saying that US military advisers aren’t a good option?
Thank you!
Nicholas Phillips
@nicholasbp Nicholas, you raise some excellent questions. I’m not an expert on foreign policy, but I know that distrust of American military interests in central Africa is not baseless. We stand to gain huge profits if we can bring this region under our influence, as the Congo especially is rich in minerals needed for cell phones and other tech.Many are calling for UN involvement in the conflict, but UN peacekeeping forces haven’t been on a mission in Uganda since the Hutus and Tutsi conflict in the early 90s. The UN typically doesn’t get involved unless there’s a war, and in this case we have a rogue madman and sporadic violence. Kony really has no political message or affiliation.
Uganda has grown economically since Kony began his operations there years ago, which is one of the reasons why he’s fled the region. The Ugandan army is not trustworthy, but Uganda is fast becoming a more stable country.
I hope that with this video, we can involve the international community. I’d like to see responses from Unicef, Amnesty International, Oxfam, etc., who are the real experts on human rights injustices. I hope this video causes professors and experts to weigh in on what should be done, and that more voices can be heard.
As far as the Kony posters, someone raised the point that if we had made posters like these with Osama Bin Laden’s face, it would have been frowned upon, as it ‘glorifies’ a murderer. I think canvassing public areas is just fine, but the artwork Invisible Children is using glorifies Kony and is single minded, without mentioning the people affected. But I’m sure the public will bring their own ideas and artwork, like I will.
finally……..feedback that topics the points that need to be illuminated. At no point in the ‘promo’ was race or colour mentioned. What I take from that 30 minutes of film were: 1) There is an evil, atrocious man who abducts, rapes, brainwashes and tortures tens of thousands of small innocent and helpless children 2) he has been doing this for more than ten years 3) these atrocities began in Uganda, but have now spread to neighbouring countries 4) there is a man who happens to be a filmaker who made a promise who is doing what we all should do as decent human beings and be true to our word. 5) there are TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE BEING TAKEN FROM THEIR BEDS, RAPED, TORTURED, BRAINWASHED.
That is enough for me to make me sit up and listen. I have now ceased reading the blogs/posts/editorials who criticize this cause. I believe in it as I have faith in human kind. x
@MoocherMe I agree with you that we are losing sight of the abuses against children. Even though race wasn’t mentioned, it’s an important subtext in this discussion. Whenever rich, educated white men are on a mission to save a colonized and subjugated children, race comes into play simply because of the world we live in, and the baggage and history we all carry. But this doesn’t mean that Invisible Children is racists, I’d argue to the contrary. Here’s a good discussion of this issue through the lens of race and colonialization: http://innovateafrica.tumblr.com/post/18897981642/you-dont-have-my-vote.
Are the issues with the funding/materialism of the campaign really what the critics of IC are focusing on? Because most of the criticism I’ve seen deals with the fact that they give money directly to the Musevini government in order to take down Kony. You know, the government of a country Kony and the LRA are no longer in. The same government that is responsible for war crimes that approach what Kony is doing in terms of evil. And also that IC members like to pose with members of the Sudanese Liberation Army. Totally non-partisan? Not really.
Kony is just one of dozens of African war criminals, many of whom are the leaders of nations. I appreciate the fact that this video is getting the word about about Kony, but their methods are not helpful to Africans. Where’s the video about Felicien Kabuga? Where’s the expose on government-sponsored abuses in Uganda, the Congo, and countless other nations? It just all seems a bit intellectually dishonest.
@Candice Greatbanks Candice, as far as the weapons photo goes, IC has addressed that here: http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/critiques.html I’m sure they regret that photo now.
Does Invisible Children “give money directly to the Musevini [sic] government”? I haven’t come across anything stating that, maybe I haven’t looked hard enough. I have found a lot of proof that they build orphanages and help children learn, though.
I don’t think it’s intellectually dishonest to ignore other warlords, because the movie isn’t about warlords. It’s about Kony, very single-mindedly so. And you’re right, the Ugandan government, president, and military aren’t blameless. But the film never argued that they were.
And their methods are indeed helpful to Africans, particularly those who now have an education, or a place to live, as a result of their programs. And particularly the children who haven’t yet been recruited as soldiers, after Kony is stopped.