Yesterday the "Stop Kony" movement went viral. All over Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and countless other sites, people are coming out of the woodwork and declaring their dedication to stopping Kony and bringing justice to the Ugandan's affected. Joseph Kony is Ugandan warlord and leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, which is an organization known for abducting, raping, and maiming women and children. Is Kony committing unspeakable acts to innocent people? Yes. Should he be stopped? Yes. But, the question is, is the "Stop Kony" campaign the best way to do so?
The video that has gone viral and has racked up over 32 million views in the last 24 hours alone was produced by the Invisible Children organization which has been around for years. Invisible Children is supposedly a non-profit organization that advocates helping and freeing Kony's victims, but it's founders make $88K a year. Futhermore, there is a rumor circulating that for every dollar donated, the founders at Invisible Children pocket 70 cents, and only the remaining 30 cents goes to the effort they advertise. Whether or not the donations are actually going to helping the Ugandan victims is unclear. A Foreign Affairs article claims that: "Such organizations have manipulated facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA's use of innocent children as soldiers, and portraying Kony-a brutal man, to be sure-as uniquely awful, a Kurts like embodiment of evil."
With everyone from Rihanna to Oprah tweeting about the "Stop Kony" campaign, is it safe to say that any and all awareness is good awareness? Or are people supporting an unethical organization? Moreover, what does awareness across social media sites actually do? Does it lead to anything productive? Does it matter that half of those supporting the campaign are only doing so because they see their friends doing it?
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