The newest campaign to hit the online world this week is Stop Kony 2012, and the video accompanying this effort has made the rounds on just about every social media site and Google search. The charity behind the video, Invisible Children, has come under a bit of fire from skeptics due to some misinformation mentioned in the video, as well as some of the questionable ways the charity handles its donations. This is no surprise. When we humans become enamored with any type of movement there will always be people out there who want to call it into question. And really, that's the way it should be. Nothing in our world should ever be taken at face value and researching all the facts is crucial to making informed decisions and ideas.
In a nutshell, the makers of the video, who I believe are also the founders of the Invisible Children charity, are setting out to bring awareness about Ugandan guerrilla leader Joseph Kony, who has abducted and forced around 66,000 children to fight in his army (the Lord's Resistance Army) over the past two decades. The filmmakers are urging people to keep this issue in the front of the minds of government officials so that hopefully we can send much needed assistance to the people fighting against Kony, which many are hoping will ultimately lead to his capture by the end of the year.
A good cause, yes? I watched the video yesterday and will admit wholeheartedly to being moved by the content and almost instantly won over to the efforts of the movement. Today I have been doing additional research on the movement as well as the charity and will admit that there are some red flags, but I am still in support of the ultimate goal, which is to capture this man and hold him accountable for the crimes against humanity he has been committing for over twenty years. I don't think anyone living anywhere in the world should have to live in fear that their child will one day be kidnapped, forced to fight in a rebel army, and murder their parents along with countless others along the way. That is sickening beyond belief, and yet its exactly what has happened to thousands of children already.
I don't really feel like I'm in the position to tell anyone whether they should or should not support this charity or the movement altogether. That's for ya'll to figure out on your own. What I am mostly interested and fascinated by is how this has in just a matter of days taken over the internet-sphere. The video is being shared like crazy on Facebook, You Tube, Pinterest, and probably a dozen other sites. Every article, opinion or otherwise, usually includes a link to the video or the charity website, and people are spreading the word like wild fire.
This is the power of the Internet. Of social media. Of one click access to information. Our social movements, while still manifesting in the streets, are also taking place online and in any number of forms. Most people up until a few days ago had no idea who Joseph Koney was, who the Invisible Children were, or what LRA stood for. Now they do. It's become an overnight sensation and all over the world this has instantly become a hot topic of conversation.
This is what fascinates me. The speed and the directness that all these mediums provide us. The access we have to share absolutely anything with, literally, the entire world. This movement, this charity, this cause that seems to have motivated so many into action, is one of the most prime examples I can think of that shows how something as simple as posting a video can create such a humungous response. Of course, as the law of gravity states that what goes up must come down, the rules of Internet sensations also follow much the same accord. Something so visible and popular today will at some point become an afterthought. Attention spans, unfortunately, are short, and once the bloom is off the rose it is harder to convince people to care.
I continue on a day-to-day basis to be fascinated by this Internet world. This seemingly endless network of information sharing and accessibility. When I was in college I took a sociology class on social movements, on "taking it to the streets" if you will. Perhaps current social movement classes are learning about "taking it to Facebook?" I wonder.
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