Post date: Mar 09, 2012 11:7:21 PM
Thanks to the San Diego, California based organization, Invisible Children, Joseph Kony is slowly on his way to becoming a household name.
The group claims Kony, the fugitive leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) militia group in Uganda, has kidnapped over 60,000 children over the past 25 years, forcing them to kill their parents, fight in wars, and turning young girls into sex slaves.
Film maker Jason Russell defends his film, saying it's mobilizing the youth of the world to help push forward a campaign to capture Joseph Kony.
REUTERS / INVISIBLE CHILDREN - The newest Internet superstar isn't a water skiing squirrel or a talking cat, he is an African war criminal who is on the top of the International Criminal Court's most wanted list.
On Monday (March 5) the foundation released a 30-minute video online, detailing their mission to have Kony arrested by December 2012, with the goal of getting 500,000 views by December 2012. Four days later, the video has been viewed over 55 million times and growing.
The film's narrator, Jason Russell, said he is still in a bit of shock over the response.
"We don't really have a name for it, but it is a global revolution, it is a human revolution. And we are excited to see what this means for Kony to come to trial at the International Criminal Court," Russell told Reuters.
"The unique thing about this movement which is really, really exciting is that it's led by the youth. It's the children, the children literally every single news interview that I've done, they say, you know what, my 14-year-old daughter, you know my 9-year-old son - that's what they're telling us - these are the people who have very clear understanding. When you get older you get muddled and polluted by the way the world is suppose to work and children don't see it that way, they are like, 'this just isn't right,'" added Russell.
Critics of the Invisible Children campaign said the video over-simplifies the situation, creating an illusion that posting messages on social media could have a meaningful impact on a long-standing human rights crisis. When asked about the criticism, Russell partly agreed.
"It definitely over-simplifies the issue. This video is not the answer, you know, this is just the gateway into the conversation. And we made it quick and we made it over-simplified on purpose you know. Steve Jobs, you know, said 'simplicity is the highest form of sophistication'. And it's really hard to make something simple, and we worked really hard to make something simple. So we're proud that it's simple," said Russell.
The charity's unconventional financial style has forced the foundation to defend the way they use their profits.
"We have found that putting money toward our media and our movie changes lives and in that life change it has tangible results into a movement that's necessary," said Russell, who said the group spends their money on media, their movement and the mission, before inviting doubters to their foundation in Africa.
"Come there if you want, if you're skeptical and don't think that what we're doing on the ground is good enough, I'm just telling you if you haven't been there then you're wrong cause what's going on in northern Uganda, and it's all Ugandan-led, is powerful."
Twenty so-called 'culturemakers' and 12 policy makers have been tapped to help spread their mission. TV personality Oprah Winfrey was the first to react.
"She was the first one to retweet, the very first one at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning, she said, 'I know about this, I've given money to this, I'm down with this cause'. So we're just working with her and the others," said Russell, who has appeared on Winfrey's former talk show three times.
The group plans to have each leader release a public service announcement to generate and continue the buzz.
While the movement has made Russell an overnight public figure, he explains that it's not about exposure.
"This isn't about the fame and the celebrity, it's just about the human beings coming together to make Kony famous and in doing that you are making the invisible children famous, you're making the invisible visible, and that was the intention."
The campaign's next push is "cover the night" on April 20 when they will ask people around the world to blanket their cities with posters and information on Joseph Kony.
In November the foundation hopes to celebrate the capture of Kony with a global concert featuring some of the world's biggest music acts.