KONY 2012

Kony 2012 is a film created by Invisible Children, Inc. which became a viral video.^[2][3][4][5] The film's purpose is to promote the charity's 'Stop Kony' movement to make indicted Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony internationally known in order to arrest him in 2012.^[6]

The film has spread virally.^[7][8][9] As of 9 March 2012, the film currently has over 14.4 million views on Vimeo,^[10] and over 58 million views on video-sharing website YouTube,^[11] with other viewing emanating from a central "Kony2012" website operated by Invisible Children. The intense exposure of the video caused the "Kony 2012" website to crash shortly after it began gaining widespread popularity.^[12] The video has also seen a number of celebrities endorsing the campaign including Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Christina Milian, Nicki Minaj, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian.^{[8][13][14][15][16]} On April 20, 2012, as part of the campaign, supporters will put up posters promoting Kony 2012 in their home towns. Invisible Children offers posters from an online shop in an attempt to gain wider recognition on the issue. They have also created action kits that include campaign buttons, posters, bracelets, and stickers to help spread awareness.^[12]

The film documents the Invisible Children Inc's plans and efforts to arrest Kony. It describes Kony's guerrilla warfare tactics with his Lord's Resistance Army and the regions (northern Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan) in which they have been employed. One of the main people featured in the film is a Ugandan named Jacob, whose brother was killed by Kony. In response, director and founder of Invisible Children, Jason Russell, "promises Jacob that he will help stop Kony." The film advocates curtailing compelled and coerced youth military service and the restoration of social order. The video also has clips of Jason Russell's son, Gavin. Gavin is a young child and many children his age are subject to Kony's regime. Gavin shows that even though he's young he wants to help and wonders why no one else does. He also says innocent, childlike things – when told that Kony forces people to kill family members and fellow countrymen, his response is "But they're not gonna do what he says, 'cause they're nice guys... right?".

The Invisible Children charity has been focused on obtaining the support of a select group of individuals in order to "help bring awareness to the horrific abuse and killing of children in the East and Central African countries at the hands of Kony and his leadership". This list included 20 "celebrity culture makers", such as George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Taylor Swift, and Ryan Seacrest.^[19]

The list also featured 12 "policy makers" that have "the power to keep U.S. government officials in Africa" in order to work toward the capture of Kony. This list includes former U.S. President George W. Bush and his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (although their administration pursued a policy of hostility towards the International Criminal Court^[20]), and U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry.^[21]