This has been blowing up across the social networking sites lately. I think it's a genius idea and it's great how they're taking advantage of the whole social networking thing. I hope it doesn't turn out to be one of those things where it's huge for a few hours and then the next day people forget about it. I've already signed the pledge and hope to be taking it further.

This isn't going away! It's going to be HUGE (unless he's captured before April 20), you can just tell.

 

It's really bloody well done as a campaign as well. Props to them on it all...

The people already complaining about this need to bore off. Surely the whole bandwagon effect is the whole point of it spreading like it already has and if they were so into it before everyone else surely they eventually wanted everyone to know about it for it to be successful anyway.

I love seeing things like this just suddenly explode in popularity and it's rather interesting to see. Love everything about this too! The promotional strategy is fantastic and I really hope this campaign is such a successful one. The April 20th thing is excellent and I hope it happens for the UK too! Will be pledging in the morning (as I'm tired right now and need sleep) and will be reading more about it tomorrow!

Have only just seen this but I'm pledging my support right away, such an ambitious idea.

Was just about to post this here, amazing campaign. It really is unbelievably shocking. :(

well, I must hold my hands up and admit I had no idea who Joseph Kony was before watching this, but now I will definitely be pledging, I really hope this turns out to be a success as its such a worthy cause and great way of carrying it out

This is seriously an incredible idea! If they pull it off then it will change the world and people will feel that they can actively to something to stop other injustices happening today! Totally backing it!

Found this article opposing the Kony 2012 campaign.

 

As ever I am easily persuaded and I am now not so sure about the campaign :(

Urgh. Call me a complete party pooper and cynic but I hate this. I'm a complete snob, so I see things a mile off (e.g. this video).

 

The message I love, as not many people prior to the past couple of days would have heard of Kony. But there's so much more to it than meets the eyes. How many people know that the charity that supports this indirectly funds the war in Uganda. I support the message, but not the charity. I think it was something like 32% of the charities money for last year actually reached charities. The message I applaud, but I don't think it will do anything? These guys are experts ar hide and week. He's wanted for war crimes by many countries. I just am incredibly cynical. Great viral marketing campaign.

Found this article opposing the Kony 2012 campaign.

 

As ever I am easily persuaded and I am now not so sure about the campaign :(

 

A lot of these people just look for holes. What I would say, is support the message but not the charity.

well, I must hold my hands up and admit I had no idea who Joseph Kony was before watching this, but now I will definitely be pledging, I really hope this turns out to be a success as its such a worthy cause and great way of carrying it out

 

and after two quite thought provoking articles, I'm already starting to feel a bit unsure about this :(

Ugh seriously whoever wrote that Visible Children article is a complete tool - the vast majority of the points are ridiculously petty. 'OH NO THEIR ACCOUNTS AREN'T AUDITED AND THEIR VIDEOS COULD BE INTERPRETED AS BEING NEOCOLONIAL DON'T SUPPORT KONY 2012' :manson: The only one which may have a point is the backing of the Sudanese and Ugandan forces given the allegations against them, but I've no doubt Invisible Children Inc. would condemn rape regardless of which side was perpetrating it. As it was the Ugandan forces were all that stood in the way of Kony at the time - they didn't have much choice in terms of forces against him. And on the 'oh only 32% of their funds go to charity front' - and? They aren't a charity, they're an awareness pressure group. They exist to raise awareness, if anything it's GOOD that they're donating some of their revenue to charity as well as using funds to raise awareness through media and thence force pressure on Western governments to do more to bring down Kony.

 

And Ren, I think 'funding the war in Uganda' is a BIT of a cheeky framing considering the donations are to support Ugandan armies against Kony rather than to support the war for its own sake!

Ugh seriously whoever wrote that Visible Children article is a complete tool - the vast majority of the points are ridiculously petty. 'OH NO THEIR ACCOUNTS AREN'T AUDITED AND THEIR VIDEOS COULD BE INTERPRETED AS BEING NEOCOLONIAL DON'T SUPPORT KONY 2012' :manson: The only one which may have a point is the backing of the Sudanese and Ugandan forces given the allegations against them, but I've no doubt Invisible Children Inc. would condemn rape regardless of which side was perpetrating it. As it was the Ugandan forces were all that stood in the way of Kony at the time - they didn't have much choice in terms of forces against him. And on the 'oh only 32% of their funds go to charity front' - and? They aren't a charity, they're an awareness pressure group. They exist to raise awareness, if anything it's GOOD that they're donating some of their revenue to charity as well as using funds to raise awareness through media and thence force pressure on Western governments to do more to bring down Kony.

 

And Ren, I think 'funding the war in Uganda' is a BIT of a cheeky framing considering the donations are to support Ugandan armies against Kony rather than to support the war for its own sake!

 

Tirren you're not going to be able to change my mind on this. I just think there are some incredibly dodgy motivies behind it, especially the way their video is marketed and explained. Firstly ok they are a public pressure group. Regardless of this everyone thinks they're a CHARITY. People are pledging money to them, and the majority of this money will not go to helping those who need it. It will be taken away by governments, or will end up in the pockets of somebody else. Secondly, their video makes it out that nobody is looking for him. I'm sure he is #1 of the UN's most wanted lists etc. - the guy is a wanted war criminal, along with many of his top men! People sticking posters up round towns will not change that. If it does then I'll eat my computer screen.

 

Doesn't matter Tirren, they're still funding warefare. You can't deny that, whether it's for good or bad intentions. A charity should not do that.

I enjoy how quickly my Facebook went from being covered in "OH MA GAWD LOOK AT THIS VIDEO HEY LET'S ALL SUPPORT THIS THING YEAH" to being covered in "OH MA GAWD THAT VIDEO IS TOTALLY BY A CORRUPT ORGANISATION HEY LET'S ALL NOT SUPPORT THIS YEAH". People are easily swayed :lol:

I enjoy how quickly my Facebook went from being covered in "OH MA GAWD LOOK AT THIS VIDEO HEY LET'S ALL SUPPORT THIS THING YEAH" to being covered in "OH MA GAWD THAT VIDEO IS TOTALLY BY A CORRUPT ORGANISATION HEY LET'S ALL NOT SUPPORT THIS YEAH". People are easily swayed :lol:

 

Everyone is an idiot. Some idiots are just louder than others.

 

And that was Brett-Butler's psuedo-philosophical comment of the week.

i hate campaigns like this because they make me feel so damn useless. it also probably doesn't help that i'm so cynical about matters like this because i have no faith in any government nor a small percentage of charities, and no faith in campaigns like this. on the flipside however this is one of the most widespread i've EVER seen and i'll happily contribute, even if it does fall through. it's already served its purpose to educate, but whether it will eliminate is a totally different issue...

i hate campaigns like this because they make me feel so damn useless. it also probably doesn't help that i'm so cynical about matters like this because i have no faith in any government nor a small percentage of charities, and no faith in campaigns like this. on the flipside however this is one of the most widespread i've EVER seen and i'll happily contribute, even if it does fall through. it's already served its purpose to educate, but whether it will eliminate is a totally different issue...

 

Don't feel useless, the war is pretty much over. If you watch the video, they make you believe the war is still going on. OK maybe they are just doing this out of heart, but if they are then they are attacking the problem the wrong way. What good will killing / capturing Kony do? It is hardly going to erase the minds of the children that have died. Killing one man is not going to end everything. That's like saying killing bin Laden was the end of the war on terror - you just killed the figurehead. Why not try and re-build Uganda? Put the money towards rebuiling stricken areas, and more importantly education. If you want to support warfare - put your money towards Amnesty International.

 

I don't understand their message, they are fighting an imaginary war, this is why I am very cynical. But for all I know they coud have spent 3 yearss re-building Uganda, and are now just trying to become a promint organisation. I just don't know. But what I do know for a fact, is their video is misleading. I have just done a year long research into the linguistic effects people when talking about social media topics. So my skeptism is at an all time high as what I found was very egocentric.

i think i just get quite touchy over campaigns like this, because i know that even if this was the most successful campaign of all-time and it did its job to well outwith expectation, there's still something else out there to tackle that's just as big; as well as horrific.

 

that's why i think it's sometimes better to just survive in my own little ignorant bubble, because i just get overwhelmed by the sheer ruins the world has become.

 

#melodramatic

To the skeptics out there, the boys who run @Invisible are wonderful friends of mine. I see the inside of what they do day in and day out. Their passion and commitment is so rare. The financial transparency of their organization is on par. And they ARE changing the world. Because of their creativity, films, & media savvy, Obama authorized a US military team to aid in the effort to capture Kony. I work closely with many NPOs, and running media is expensive. But it's the ONLY reason our government cares about Kony. And it's the only reason most of you KNOW about Kony. Just because you, individually, haven't started a massive movement, doesn't mean your voice isn't valuable. So instead of using it to bitch about people who have started those movements, join them, and make your voice a weapon for good. We can save lives. We can change the future. We can end the fear for tens of thousands of children. #StopKony #Save30000 #StopAtNothing

Sophia Bush