Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)

[cbayer]

I just heard the author interviewed and it was very interesting.

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things



Thanks to an incredibly effective social media effort, #StopKony is trending on Twitter today. The campaign coincides with a new awareness-raising documentary by the group Invisible Children. Former FP intern Michael Wilkerson, now a freelance journalist and Ph.D. candidate at Oxford -- who has lived and reported from Uganda -- contributed this guest post on the campaign. -JK

By Michael Wilkerson:

"Joseph Kony is basically Adolf Hitler. He has an army of 30 000 mindless children who slaughter innocent people in Uganda."

Have you seen something like that fly across your Twitter or Facebook feed today? Or perhaps this?:

"#TweetToSave the Invisible Children of Uganda! #Kony2012 Make Joseph Kony Famous!!"

"Kony 2012," a video posted by advocacy group Invisible Children to raise awareness about the pernicious evil of Lord's Risistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, has already been viewed over 8 million times on Vimeo and more than 9 million times on YouTube (and surely more by the time you read this) since its release this week.

It would be great to get rid of Kony. He and his forces have left a path of abductions and mass murder in their wake for over 20 years. But let's get two things straight: 1) Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and hasn't been for 6 years; 2) the LRA now numbers at most in the hundreds, and while it is still causing immense suffering, it is unclear how millions of well-meaning but misinformed people are going to help deal with the more complicated reality.

more at link

[Leopolds Ghost]

1. Yep, here's a link to the Kony 2012 viral video for people who don't know what this is about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002395235 (includes video)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12521014 (I reposted in OU)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002394758

It's an extremely well-made bit of propaganda.

If it results in Kony's capture (and not just money for Ugandan troops or money for this guy's nonprofit) then it will have done some good.

[cbayer]

2. It's also an very interesting study in how the internet works these days.

The ability to put out information that may be at best misleading and at worst full bore propaganda is amazing.

FWIW, those challenging this video are not saying that Kony is not what the filmmakers say he is (basically Satan incarnate), just that they have framed it in a very misleading way.

There are questions about the possible financial motives of the filmmakers as well.

[Leopolds Ghost]

3. The concept of deliberately creating a meme in order to achieve some social purpose has whiffs of

the New Sincerity about it. Not that that's a bad thing... it's an attempt to reframe the zeitgeist.

It's interesting that this was retweeted by @YourAnonNews

according to this article: http://memeburn.com/2012/03/kony-2012-a-quest-for-justice-via-social-media/

Anonymous generally dislikes forced memes unless they are being used for anti-establishment purposes.

Of course this guy very openly says it is an attempt to create an internet meme, and as such, fits into the whole New Sincerity thing.

I suspect they are worried about the online activist "movement" being co-opted by, for lack of a better word, viral marketing campaigns.

I am more concerned with the shift in how memes are spread. If people are not doing it to seem "hip" and are not doing it to share irony or to share underground humor then there's two options -- people sincerely want to be part of something that is larger themselves (good) or most people are mindless followers who like something only if their Facebook tripfriends like it (bad).

[cbayer]

5. New Sincerity is a new concept to me.

I am also concerned about various movements being co-opted by things that go viral.

Too many people do not do their own homework and, even if presented with conflicting evidence, will still hold on to what they want to be true as opposed to what is true.

We've seen it happen here over and over. I even feared that posting this would bring down a reign of outrage.

I think both of your options are true (people want to be part of something and they are often mindless followers). Either way, if they do not verify what they are told or question those telling them these things, they will do more harm than good in the long run.

[OneGrassRoot]

13. The backlash to efforts such as this Kony 2012 does something else...

which I find disturbing. And reading and interacting in this thread helped me clarify exactly what it is that's bothering me.

It gives those inclined to hide their heads in the sand an excuse to turn away.

As a rule, I'm not one to automatically support a nonprofit simply because they're a nonprofit. As we've seen time and time again, they are essentially like any other business in which it's easy for those at the top to make what I feel are unreasonable sums of money while the initial mission becomes secondary to the administration of the organization.

So criticizing organizations and holding them accountable is definitely something I support.

And perhaps this video could have been done differently in order to avoid some of the criticism the organization is facing, some of which are detailed in the OP's link. However, what I'm witnessing is people initially paying attention to the issue because of the video (people who aren't normally the type to get engaged and pay attention), yet they then see all the backlash and criticism, as they feel it gives them an out.

Move along. Nothing more to see about this issue. "Just another scam" is the message they take away (because that's actually what some misleading headlines are saying).

It's just a shame. Maybe Invisible Children could have consulted with those who disagree with their approach ahead of time to at least have made the video itself completely beyond reproach, even if all aspects of the issue and how to deal with it would likely never be agreed upon.

It's impossible to not only engage but please everyone and get everyone on board with even the most straightforward campaigns.

Anyway, I posted their official response to the criticism below.

[OneGrassRoot]

4. Link to Invisible Children's response to criticism here:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html

[cbayer]

6. That's an excellent response from them. It's hard to know what is true and what

is not through all of this.

This particular criticism does not dispute the horror of Kony or question the integrity of the organization. It's only challenges the framing as being misleading.

[OneGrassRoot]

7. In my opinion...

Anything that raises awareness is always a positive thing.

As many have said, most don't dispute that the information in the video is correct. People can disagree about the best way to deal with such horrors, but awareness must be raised, first and foremost.

They're doing that very successfully, and I applaud this social experiment of getting this video to go viral.

I'm really stunned by the backlash. If this campaign was focused on Invisible Children raising money, I could understand (and we all know to do our own research into organizations before donating).

But the focus is to share the video, to raise awareness.

I know there are always skeptics saying this won't work and that won't work, yada, yada.

But it always ticks me off when the naysayers have no suggestions of their own, yet they always try to destroy those who are at least trying. I don't get it.

[cbayer]

8. One of the things this author has expressed concern about is that it may be

beating a war drum that doesn't need to be beaten and directing attention to an area that is relatively stable at this time.

He does, in fact, have many ideas about what needs to be done. He just strongly objects to some of the *facts* and ideas pushed in this film.

"One of the biggest issues with a simplistic "Stop Kony" message is that discussions of Navy Seals or drone strikes are inevitable when patience runs out with Ugandan-led efforts."

[OneGrassRoot]

9. Yes, this article does go more in depth...

than others I've seen which tend to concentrate on the video's approach stylistically. You're absolutely right.

I really haven't picked up on the "beat the war drum" aspect, though I understand that is a concern of others. We can all watch/read the same thing and come away with different perceptions.

I also realize the criticism has to do with the simplification of a very complicated problem.

I understand and respect that. Yet, to me, all problems are complicated. Rarely is anything black or white.

In order to engage more people to delve into the complexities, they have to be aware of it to begin with. And, to raise awareness and reach the masses, it needs to be simplified.

Hopefully of the millions of people learning about this via Kony 2012 (as well as all the criticisms of the same), there is a percentage who will indeed research and learn more on their own and form their own opinions.

My biggest fear is apathy. That's why I'm heartened when I see people talking and engaging, including disagreeing.

So long as the discussion is going on, there's hope.

To me, this campaign isn't about Kony or Uganda; it's an experiment in empowering people to realize the power they have at their fingertips to learn and share information, and then take whatever action they feel is appropriate.

A continuation of how social media was influential in the Arab Spring.

My opinion.

[cbayer]

10. Many excellent points, and I absolutely agree that increasing awareness can

increase engagement.. and that's a good thing in the long run.

I do not wish to squash discussion of the Kony issue. I am just concerned about how this process can be subverted and work against us.

[OneGrassRoot]

11. I hear you.

[ellisonz]

15. The only real solution here...

...is likely military. Also, the impression of stability in the DRC is just that - Northeastern DRC is still the badlands. Kony is not going to be captured, he's going to be killed.

[hedgehog]

12. IIRC, when Obama sent the advisors in, he was accused by some on the left of being

more interested in seizing the natural resources in the area than in going after the Lord's Liberation Army. From the right, he was accused by some of going after Christians! If nothing else, this video has caused numerous journalists to focus on the situation and explain ti to people!

I heard an interesting story on NPR - one of the most important tools in the fight is simply improving communications by for example, adding cell towers! These will help improve the overall economies of these areas if nothing else!

[cbayer]

14. East Africa has an amazing amount of cellular access.

While most can't afford basic necessities, phones are dirt cheap, readily available and access widespread. There are towers in places that don't have running water.

I was amazed to see that.

To your other point, anything that increases our knowledge and concern about what is going on in areas like Uganda is fundamentally good. It just needs to be accurate or it could bite us in the butt.

[ellisonz]

16. Do you know what makes many of those phones work?

Ethics of Coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Conflicts, including the Rwandan occupation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) made it difficult for the DRC to exploit its coltan reserves. Mining of the mineral is mainly artisanal and small-scale[citation needed]. A 2003 UN Security Council report[17] charged that a great deal of the ore is mined illegally and smuggled over the country's eastern borders by militias from neighbouring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.[18]

Coltan smuggling likely provides income for the military occupation of Congo[citation needed], as well as prolonged civil conflict, according to an activist website, Toward Freedom.[19][dead link]

To many[who?], this raises ethical questions akin to those of conflict diamonds. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate mining operations, several processors such as Cabot Corp (USA) have decided to forgo central African coltan altogether, relying on other sources.[citation needed]

Toward Freedom claims that the 2000 launch of the Sony PlayStation 2 increased demand for tantalum electrolytic capacitors, causing the world price of coltan to increase sharply, in turn resulting in accelerated mining of the Congolese hills containing coltan. Sony claims it has discontinued its use of tantalum acquired from the Congo, sourcing it from other countries. However, Towards Freedom claims that some of it must have come from the Congo.[19][dead link]

All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved. Austrian journalist Klaus Werner has documented links between multi-national companies like Bayer and the illegal coltan traffic.[20] A United Nations committee investigating the plunder of gems and minerals in the Congo listed in its final report[17] approximately 125 companies and individuals involved in business activities breaching international norms. Companies accused of irresponsible corporate behavior are for example the Cabot Corporation,[21] Eagle Wings Resources International[22] Forrest Group[23] and OM Group.[24]

Much coltan from the DRC is being exported to China for processing into electronic-grade tantalum powder and wires.[25]

Estimates of the Congo's fraction of the world's coltan reserves range from 64%[26] to 80%.[27] Tantalum, the primary mineral extracted from Coltan is also mined from other sources, and Congolese coltan represented around 10% of world production in recent years.[28][29]
[edit]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coltan#Ethics_of_Coltan_mining_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_Congo