Who is Kony?

"KONY 2012: STOP AT NOTHING" is the slogan of a new political campaign. It is an election year, but no, this campaign is not someone running in a presidential election. This campaign started by the nonprofit, Invisible Children, is one of the most effective campaigns ever seen. It went viral on March 6th, spreading from Facebook to Twitter to Youtube. KONY 2012 is now known as the fastest video in the history of the Internet to reach 100 million views, which it accomplished in only 6 days (Heinz).

What is KONY2012?

Joseph Kony is a monster. There is no doubt about that. According the NY Times, Kony is "is one of the most notorious and vilified rebel leaders on the planet. He stands accused of kidnapping countless children in northern Uganda and neighboring countries, turning the girls into sex slaves and the boys into killers. His so-called Christian movement, the Lord’s Resistance Army, has terrorized villagers in at least four countries in central Africa for nearly 20 years, killing tens of thousands of people, burning down huts and hacking off lips."

Why should you care?

As humans, hearing about the atrocities accomplished by one single man is heartbreaking. It's natural to react to such strong stories of injustice, pain, and anguish. The Invisible Children did an amazing job of spreading this horrendous new across the country and the world, but what is frightening is how quickly entire populations of people supported a movement that they knew nothing about. With such effective propaganda, a small group of people was able to create avalanche-like support for KONY 2012 that people blindly donated time, money, and resources. We need to be wary of good advertising and influential voices. KONY 2012 is a clear example of a well-made advertising that is eerily reminiscent of the Frankfurt School's hypodermic needle model (Ott).