So, I was watching Kony 2012 the other day and I got all emotional. It's a sad 30 minute piece of propaganda that really does get to you. I opened up a new flick in Firefox, ready to buy the 'Action Kit' and support this beautiful thing. But right before I did it, I saw a related video called "KONY 2012 is misleading". It was a random Ugandan girl who talked about the situation in Uganda. I watched it, did some research and changed my opinion about Kony 2012 completely.
(I wasn't actually about to buy a 'KONY 2012 Action Kit', just wrote that for dramatic effect)
SO, i found out that this company, Invisible Children, has made 10 videos in the past. KONY 2012 is their eleventh, and they hit the jackpot with this one. 70 million viewers after a few days. Let's break it down though.
A quick look on Invisible Children's finances show that last year, they spent over 8 million USD, and only 2,8 million USD actually went to 'Direct Services'. I'd say around half of these 2,8 mill' actually went to the children in Africa. The rest of the money went to a bunch of non-charity related things, such as staff salaries, travel and film production. That's right, film production. 78% of the money you donate goes to salaries to the crew, their travel (not just to Africa, but around the world) and more films like Kony 2012.
These guys refuse to have an external audit committee. That single fact says more about them than the film does.
As if that wasn't enough, the 32% that actually does go to Africa goes to the Ugandan army and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The Ugandan army has been accused of committing much worse crimes than Joseph Kony (including things such as mass rape and torture) and the SpLA is probably an even worse army to get hold of your money because THEY have been using child soldiers only 10-15 years ago. Some people believe they still do have child soldiers.
Invisible Children has a firm goal with this Kony business. They want Kony captured/killed by the end of the year.
See any problems here? Almost the entire population of Uganda is convinced Kony is dead, nobody in Uganda considers him a threat. Another problem is the fact that Invisible Children is all about the children (30,000) in Joseph Kony's army, yet Invisible Children STILL wants to take out Kony with force; meaning they'll have to kill his army of kids.
Raising awareness does not solve anything. It's a cheap technique to use when you want people to think that they're making a difference. It's like when religious people think they can pray away global warming. It doesn't work.
KONY 2012 is nothing but propaganda. Some people out there believe the American government is behind the film. I don't. I think one man realized how much money he could make off of today's pathetic, lazy and dumb generation and took 11 shots at it. The latest one was a hit.
Here's a quote from Jedidiah Jenkins, Invisible Children's Director of Ideology
"Thirty-seven percent of our budget goes directly to central African-related programs, about 20 percent goes to salaries and overhead, and the remaining 43 percent goes to our awareness programs. [ ] But aside from that, the truth about Invisible Children is that we are not an aid organization, and we don't intend to be. I think people think we're over there delivering shoes or food. But we are an advocacy and awareness organization."
People watch a video they make, then buy an action kit so they can make a new video.
For those of you who have been following the KONY 2012 film on Youtube can clearly see how the attitude of the film makers is changing. When it came out and the followers were hyping it like there was no tomorrow in the comments, everything was fine. When people started asking questions they disabled the comment section. I'm going to predict that they'll disable the like/dislike buttons in a few weeks too.
Save your money folks, I know I did.
(I wasn't actually about to buy a 'KONY 2012 Action Kit', just wrote that for dramatic effect)
SO, i found out that this company, Invisible Children, has made 10 videos in the past. KONY 2012 is their eleventh, and they hit the jackpot with this one. 70 million viewers after a few days. Let's break it down though.
A quick look on Invisible Children's finances show that last year, they spent over 8 million USD, and only 2,8 million USD actually went to 'Direct Services'. I'd say around half of these 2,8 mill' actually went to the children in Africa. The rest of the money went to a bunch of non-charity related things, such as staff salaries, travel and film production. That's right, film production. 78% of the money you donate goes to salaries to the crew, their travel (not just to Africa, but around the world) and more films like Kony 2012.
These guys refuse to have an external audit committee. That single fact says more about them than the film does.
As if that wasn't enough, the 32% that actually does go to Africa goes to the Ugandan army and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The Ugandan army has been accused of committing much worse crimes than Joseph Kony (including things such as mass rape and torture) and the SpLA is probably an even worse army to get hold of your money because THEY have been using child soldiers only 10-15 years ago. Some people believe they still do have child soldiers.
Invisible Children has a firm goal with this Kony business. They want Kony captured/killed by the end of the year.
See any problems here? Almost the entire population of Uganda is convinced Kony is dead, nobody in Uganda considers him a threat. Another problem is the fact that Invisible Children is all about the children (30,000) in Joseph Kony's army, yet Invisible Children STILL wants to take out Kony with force; meaning they'll have to kill his army of kids.
Raising awareness does not solve anything. It's a cheap technique to use when you want people to think that they're making a difference. It's like when religious people think they can pray away global warming. It doesn't work.
KONY 2012 is nothing but propaganda. Some people out there believe the American government is behind the film. I don't. I think one man realized how much money he could make off of today's pathetic, lazy and dumb generation and took 11 shots at it. The latest one was a hit.
Here's a quote from Jedidiah Jenkins, Invisible Children's Director of Ideology
"Thirty-seven percent of our budget goes directly to central African-related programs, about 20 percent goes to salaries and overhead, and the remaining 43 percent goes to our awareness programs. [ ] But aside from that, the truth about Invisible Children is that we are not an aid organization, and we don't intend to be. I think people think we're over there delivering shoes or food. But we are an advocacy and awareness organization."
People watch a video they make, then buy an action kit so they can make a new video.
For those of you who have been following the KONY 2012 film on Youtube can clearly see how the attitude of the film makers is changing. When it came out and the followers were hyping it like there was no tomorrow in the comments, everything was fine. When people started asking questions they disabled the comment section. I'm going to predict that they'll disable the like/dislike buttons in a few weeks too.
Save your money folks, I know I did.