Did Kony 2012 fail?
By now, almost everyone has heard of Kony 2012, the viral video released by Invisible Children, Inc. For the few who are unfamiliar with the movements, a quick Google search will provide the basic run down—the Lord’s Resistance Army, based primarily in Uganda and led by Joseph Kony, has forced countless children into its military to rebel against the ruling government.
Cartoon by Abby Gross
While there can be no doubt that the sort of horrific actions put upon fellow human beings takes place on a daily basis worldwide, the Kony 2012 campaign has a large number of detractors who appeared nearly as quickly as the video did. A counter webpage, Visible Children, became popular for its facts and criticism of the Invisible Children organization and its Kony campaign. Jokes about “Kony dogs,” criticism of some shaky facts and other arguments abounded. It went so far as to the Ugandan Prime Minister creating a Twitter account with which he responded to American celebrities’ critiques of his nation, inviting them to visit and see it for themselves.
Why did a well-intentioned campaign to hold a violent, tyrannical and manipulative man accountable for his crimes against humanity catch so much flak? Much of it lies in the nature of the campaign.
By using social media and viral videos for the campaign, Invisible Children quickly inundated the Internet with “Kony” media. The approximately 30-minute video, which became the most successful viral video of all time, garnered more than 100 million views in less than a week. Those who were uninterested were flooded with repeated posts and tweets of the video that often quoted buzzwords and phrases from the campaign.
There is valid criticism of this “social activism.” The video serves to educate, but its ultimate goal is to call people to action to help elicit a worldwide change. However, as much of the social media buzz came from adolescents and young adults, the “activism” stopped with a Facebook post.
This misconstrued sense of activism is what stemmed much of the negativity. Rather than trying to elicit a change (though the U.S. government did take notice once the mainstream media carried the story), people patted themselves on the back for sharing a video. Self-satisfaction and condescension on both sides of the issue seemed to run amuck.
Then came the apparent breakdown of Invisible Children co-founder Jason Russell, which was later explained as dehydration, exhaustion and malnutrition. The stress of the criticisms of his company had driven him to the point of a mental and physical breakdown that generated more bad press.
What entrepreneurs can learn from the case of “Kony 2012” is that viral marketing is not always the best way to spread the word. Once something that is produced is online, it is inextricably out of the creator’s hands. Do not expect only good to come of your work — detractors often will have accurate criticism with which you must contend.
There’s more to this case, however. The “social media activism” of reposting a video to Twitter or Facebook is not activism at all. Indeed, it is a lazy way for well-off citizens of the economically developed to feel better about their own affluent lives and lack of effort to help the less fortunate.
While this is a valid criticism, those who cite the fact that terrible things happen every day have shaky footing as well. While this is true, it does not take away from the fact that the campaign is well-intentioned.
Unfortunately, the Kony 2012 campaign has led to a bit of a schism between people online. Rather than creating arguments and resentment, an ideal social activism campaign should bring people together. Hiding behind a keyboard and bullying those with higher hopes is no way to live. An open mind and a willingness to work together towards change are key to any improvement, Internet-based or not. Our society would do well to remember that.
