Kony 2012 An Awareness Campaign: Skeptic/Supporter

Quote: "If an ad campaign is built around a weak idea - or as is so often the case, no idea at all - I don't give a damn how good the execution is, it's going to fail"

                - Morris Hite 

Subliminal Matters: Joseph Kony = child terrorist; Joseph Kony is #1 on the Int’l Criminal Court’s list for war crimes and crimes against humanity; Gadaffi was #24 on the same list; campaign charged with defamation of Uganda and not considering complexity of African issues; over simplification; Kony irrelevant today in light of other problems in the African continent; bigger picture of the campaign = it empowers everyday people to make a difference through social media medium; more good can come from Kony 2012 than bad; Kony 2012 scam for money.

Location: Worldwide campaign, internet advertising

Ad Review: Kony 2012 was created by the Invisible Children, a humanitarian org, which has dedicated itself to bringing Joseph Kony to justice for his crimes over the last 20-25 years.

People against the campaign have commented that:

·         The campaign reflects negatively on Africa and generates an old narrative that Africans cannot solve their own problems/ need the help of the “white man” to overcome internal issues, something referred to as “the saviour complex” or "White Man's Burden" .  More opinions.

The two points that I found most relevant from those against the campaign:

1.     Invisible Children have an accountability rating of 2/4- very poor

2.     A third of proceedings from IC went to the actual cause in Africa/the Sudan People Liberation Army which is laced with accusations of rape and looting. The rest went to making films- quite poor compared to other organizations.

People supporting the campaign:

1.     Find there’s a bigger picture: If everyday people see that they had a part in bringing down the most wanted man on the ICC list, imagine what other accomplishments can/will follow.  Awareness and action can work together for good. 

2.     Problems no longer have to be seen through borders or territories, something we might have known already but can now see practically applied. The power of social media is evident and the campaign highlights how it can be used for good.

3.     Unless the critics of IC are doing something about the other problems they identify their words are weak. What’s the point of criticizing one man’s challenge to himself when you do nothing yourself? #don’t kill the messenger

If you have watched the video you might have missed a few important details that were stated:

1.     Uganda is currently a relatively safe place and that can be relative to the country where you the reader are reading this from.

2.     Kony is no longer in Uganda. Uganda is where the main character of the video, Jacob is from, and where Kony was in 2003 carrying out child abductions etc.

3.     The maker of the video’s stated intention?: Bring Kony to justice for what he has done with everyone’s support.

I support Kony 2012. I am very much an independent thinker who believes skepticism and advocacy are both mediums that unearth truths. So after spending my time understanding both views, at the end of the day I asked myself two questions:

1.     If slavery occurred in my lifetime and was led by one man would I want him brought to justice?

2.     If Hitler were alive today would I want him to receive the full brunt of the law for what he had done even if he were not actively continuing his actions today?

Both times my answer was yes, and I think given that Kony is #1 on the crimes against humanity list, I would do well to support a campaign seeking his capture. Are there far more pressing issues going on in the world presently? Absolutely YES, but the failure of capturing international attention to these issues can in no way be related to Kony 2012. I’m sorry, I just don’t see the link between the two and I have looked for one intently for the past week+. I won’t donate to IC, I don’t think I agree with how they spend their revenue, I think my verbal and written support is sufficient. After all, it is an awareness campaign!