Do You Remember Kony 2012?

In March of 2016 Invisible Children, a non-profit organization, launched a 30-minute documentary that quickly went viral. Within five days of its release, it had over 100 million views and, at the time, was the most-watched viral video of all time. In the years since it has come to light that many of the claims made in the campaign had been exaggerated in order to sensationalize the story and raise more money. Although the Kony 2012 campaign may have made some young people more suspicious of these types of viral marketing, it also proved how successfully a cause can be spread via social media.  Campaigns like the Ice Bucket challenge have been able to harness this power as well to tremendous effect.



Focusing on the African country of Uganda and the damage caused by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the documentary spread rapidly via Facebook and Twitter shares. It documented the path of destruction left by the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony. It urged the viewers to join the cause to raise awareness of these heinous acts. The goal was to stop Kony's reign of terror through donations and a widespread guerrilla marketing campaign in the United States. The campaign was massively successful and raised over $12 million via merchandising and individual donors. Supporters could purchase "action kits" for $30 which included stickers, t-shirts, and posters all meant to spread the message of the Invisible Children organization.

Joseph Kony

I first heard about the Kony 2012 campaign on Facebook. I remember seeing all of my friends sharing the video and eventually it piqued my curiosity. I took the time to watch it and found that the short film was very well done and quickly grabbed my attention. After finishing the video I was excited to join the movement and see what I could do to help the cause. Fortunately, after some thought, I decided against it and eventually forgot about the campaign altogether. It wasn't until weeks later that I realized that I hadn't heard anything on social media or from my friends about the campaign. Although it had raised a tremendous amount of money very quickly, it seemed to die off just as quickly as it had started. 

Years later I looked back on this fad and began to do a little research on what had happened to the organization. I found out that although the organization had raised well over $10 million it did not donate this money to help the victims of the LRA and Joseph Kony, instead this money was used to raise "awareness". This meant creating more films and essentially trying to make more money for the Invisible Children organization. To make things worse for the organization its founder, Jason Russell, had been arrested for public masturbation and auto-vandalism only a few weeks after the video's initial release.

The true downfall of Kony 2012 may have been its over simplification of the issues and it's clear sensationalism. The creators of the movement failed to present a well rounded story and instead presented a very one sided and narrow minded narrative that may have hurt the Ugandan people more than it helped. By sensationalizing the effect of the LRA at the time, as well as advocating for an increased military presence in an already heavily militarized area the Kony 2012 campaign could have easily made the situation worse. Fortunately, the campaign seems to have had little effect on the area even four years later.

The legacy of the Kony 2012 movement is one of disappointment and dishonesty. For many of the young people who donated money to the cause and put in many hours doing their part to raise awareness the Kony 2012 movement serves as a reminder of the importance of research before supporting as political cause or candidate. Although it had such a negative effect on so many individuals views of nonprofits and viral marketing, Kony 2012 paved the way for a whole new way to raise funds. By demonstrating the overwhelming power of an engaging social media campaign, Kony 2012 set the stage for many of the massive social media causes we see today.