Out of nowhere last week a film called "Kony 2012" calling for a US invasion of Uganda to kill a man named Joseph Kony became the fastest-growing social media campaign ever. This film uploaded only a week ago by Invisible Children Inc. has received over 75 million views already and is causing a wave of righteous indignation for this latest popular terrorist bogeyman. There are a multitude of reasons, however, why Kony 2012 and Invisible Children Inc. reek of propaganda. First of all, Joseph Kony himself denies all the allegations of rape, torture, and children soldiers made by the filmmakers. Secondly, he is no longer in Uganda and is rumored to have died years ago! Thirdly, 12 big wig politicians and 20 Hollywood superstars have already signed on to show their support for this military invasion, which is a red flag. The supposed atrocities committed by Joseph Kony and his LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) started 22 years ago and ended about 6 years ago. Ugandans laugh at the idea of invading to find Kony because it is no longer a politically relevant issue. Instead they say this is all propaganda in an effort for Western powers to enter Uganda and take it's immense oil reserves. Meanwhile the ostensible creators of this movement, Invisible Children Inc., have been making over $13 million a year in charity and pocketing 69% of donations, giving only 31% to Uganda. Have a look at the great editorials above and leave a comment below what you think of this latest, amazingly successful, propaganda campaign.
