On March 5, the Kony 2012 campaign launched when the nonprofit, Invisible Children, created a 30-minute video in order to call attention to Joseph Kony, the now-infamous leader of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. We fully support the intentions behind the video, as there is no doubt in our minds that Kony and his crimes are heinous. That said, we have reservations about the Invisible Children campaign and are alarmed at the way in which many college students have embraced the movement seemingly without much thought.
At the beginning of the video, co-founder Jason Russell notes that "today, there are more people on Facebook than there were on the planet two hundred years ago." He goes on to discuss how this desire and ability to connect can and should be used for good - in this case, to promote awareness and stop Kony's reign of terror. This is all well and good, but we are seriously concerned that the ease of spreading awareness has caused a decrease in the depth of activist knowledge of the issue. In the wake of the SOPA and PIPA campaign, we must question the principles of a lethargic digital protest culture fostered by such easy accessibility of information.
With one-click options such as liking, sharing and forwarding, it has become an incredibly simple matter to pass something along to others without having to take responsibility for the accuracy or consequences of its content. We therefore encourage people, regardless of whether they are for or against Kony 2012 or somewhere in between, to do their own research before hastily jumping to conclusions. The ease of communicating and connecting on the Internet can result in complacency if we believe that merely clicking a button - what some call "slacktivism" - is always enough to make a change.
As prominent as the video has been on all of our newsfeeds, backlash against Invisible Children and the campaign went viral almost as quickly. Many take issue with the perceived easing of "white man's guilt" in Africa, and others claim that the campaign is an elaborate conspiracy motivated by access to oil in Uganda. Many, including major journalists and activists in Uganda, have complained that the movie has considerably oversimplified the issue, and the LRA has not been in northern Uganda since 2006. Some worry that this will only embolden Kony. Whatever stance one takes on this issue, or any issue for that matter, it must be reached through critical and cautious consideration of the facts and not founded on its convenience or popularity.
Russell claims that through the organization's efforts, "awareness turned into action. We started something." We hope that the recent awareness raised about Kony does indeed yield positive, tangible results. As one blogger wrote, "Invisible Children is right when it says that the power of individuals is increasing. As a donor, voter and social networker, you have power. With that power comes responsibility." But the power we have is not only in the sharing of links and the spreading of awareness. As educated individuals in the digital age, it is our responsibility to be comprehensive and discerning in the activism we choose to promote.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
