{"id":28092,"date":"2012-03-12T10:28:09","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T17:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/?p=28092"},"modified":"2012-03-12T10:28:09","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T17:28:09","slug":"viral-video-kony-2012-generates-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/2012\/03\/12\/viral-video-kony-2012-generates-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral Video ‘Kony 2012’ Generates Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listen to this segment<\/a> | entire program<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Few Americans who have spent any time online in this past week have missed the excitement and furor over a super-viral video entitled Kony 2012. In just a week the short documentary-style advocacy video became one of the most watched Internet videos of all time with over 56 million views on YouTube since its March 5th posting. The 27 minute video produced by the activist group \u201cInvisible Children Inc\u201d is a follow up to their 2006 documentary, also called \u201cInvisible Children\u201d detailing the use of child soldiers in the Ugandan Civil war. The San Diego based group had advocated an expanded American presence in Uganda, helping to pass a 2010 bill authorizing US aid to the African nation and supporting a 2011 decision by the Obama administration to deploy 100 special forces soldiers to assist in the capture of Joseph Kony, commander of the insurgent Lords Resistance Army. This latest video by Invisible Children, Kony 2012 seeks to further publicize Joseph Kony and his exploits, citing fears that American support may be withdrawn if the warlord is not arrested within the year. The video advertises an \u201cAction Kit\u201d containing stickers and bracelets available for 30 dollars and a April 20th \u201cCover the Night\u201d poster campaign in effort aimed at \u201credefining the propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

The video has garnered sharp criticism form Uganda experts and journalists while the organization behind the videos has come under financial scrutiny regarding the incomes of its board of directors. Nigerian-American author Teju Cole, on Twitter, berated Invisible Children as part of the \u201cwhite savior industrial complex\u201d while others have raised questions of the film\u2019s factual accuracy. Controversy surrounding a speech given by Invisible Children founder Jason Russell in 2011 at evangelical Christian, Liberty University has been seen by some as an admission that the organization is cover for an evangelizing campaign in Central Africa. Ugandans too have complained that the Kony 2012 video disregards efforts made by indigenous aid groups and ignores the peace in Northern Uganda, now in its sixth year. Concerns also abound as to the consequences of US involvement in the African nation and the possibility of escalation if Joseph Kony remains at large by years end. <\/p>\n

GUEST: Emira Woods, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus<\/em><\/p>\n

Emira Woods recommends the following video rebuttal of Kony 2012: <\/p>\n