KONY 2012 filmmakerJason Russell first met Jacob when he visited Uganda in 2003. Russell says he's a radical, a rebel and the imagined love-child of Oprah, Bono and Steven Spielberg. Picture: Courtesy of Invisible Children Source: news.com.au
Jacob Acaye, the boy from Uganda in the film KONY 2012, says it's not too late. Picture: Courtesy of Invisible Children Source: news.com.au
AS the dust settles on the emotive, global buzz surrounding the controversial KONY 2012 documentary, many have more questions than answers.
The immediate reaction was largely one of support. Millions of people worldwide, including here in Australia, plastered the name of Joseph Kony all over Facebook and Twitter in the grip of a social revolution.
The film has also garnered much scepticism. Is a campaign to engender change, peace and action best run through viral media?
Questions over the group behind Jason Russell's film - Invisible Children - include the transparency of their spending and their support of Uganda's military.
Russell's film says in order to catch Kony and bring him to justice, Uganda's military needs to be supported with the right technology. The United States is providing manpower, in the form of the 100 advisers sent over late last year at the behest of President Barack Obama.
So how do we separate the factions and the fiction - the rhetoric from the substance? We seek to answer some of the most common questions asked of the KONY phenomenon.
How much do we know about Jason Russell?
Jason Russell is a filmmaker and activist based in California. Crucially, he co-founded Invisible Children, the group behind KONY 2012, in 2006.
The Kony campaign began after he travelled to Gulu, northern Uganda in 2003 and befriended a local boy, Jacob Acaye, promising to bring an end to his suffering. Jacob was one of the children hiding from Kony's brutal regime, a regime that claimed the life of his brother. Jacob watched him die.
Russell co-founded Invisible Children as a not-for-profit organisation tasked with "advocacy and inspiring America's youth to 'do more than just watch'."
He describes himself as a radical, rebel soul and dream evangelist. In March last year, he revealed his inspirations to PMc Magazine: "If Oprah, Steven Spielberg and Bono had a baby, I would be that baby."
Russell's freedom fighter character further includes an attraction to pregnant women and a son whose actual middle name is Danger.
Where is Joseph Kony now?
He's not in Uganda. The leader of brutal guerrilla group LRA, the Lord's Resistance Army, was exiled, as the New York Times reports "to a fiefdom on the border of southern Sudan and the Congo" in 2006.
Kony has not operated with the LRA in Uganda for six years. The country's north has been largely safe from conflict for that period.
The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony left, and his deputy Vincent Otti, center, in discussion with UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland in 2006. Pic: AP
Source: AP
In a highly-circulated Foreign Policy article, freelance journalist Michael Wilkerson writes about the complicated truths behind Kony:
"Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and hasn't been for 6 years;� 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."
But those who campaign against him say he's still wreaking havoc, most likely in the Central African Republic, finding new ways to stay hidden and strengthening his defences - including the abduction of more children to consolidate his army.
Jacob, the child protagonist from KONY 2012, says it's still as important as ever that the first man ever indicted by the International Crimes Court (in July 2005) be brought to justice.
He says it's not too late.
"Now what was happening in Gulu (northern Urganda) is still going on elsewhere in the Central African Republic and in Congo," he told the The Guardian.�
"What about the people who are suffering over there? They are going through what we went through."
What about Invisible Children's finances?
The film has prompted concerns over how Invisible Children spends its money.
Invisible Children reports that in an official account of the $13.7 million raised in the 2010/11 financial year, $8.8 million was allocated for expenses - including filming costs, transportation and production.
Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord Resistance Movement, pictured in 2006. Picture: AFP
Source: AFP
A small breakdown of the funds actually goes towards funding work on the ground in Uganda, but the group says its role is primarily in advocacy and campaigning.
It is relying on the unified voices of many to put pressure on policymakers the world over.
Who's behind the campaign?
Russell's film stated the movement was targeting 20 "culture makers" and some of the world's most famous faces are getting involved.
Here's a collection of the top Tweets:
Who are the other players?
The International Criminal Court is quoted in KONY 2012 as being in support of Invisible Children's campaign. His indictment has stood for six-and-a-half-years and they want him caught.
Although he's cited at being at the top of the ICC's most wanted list, in reality, he was just the first indicted. No such official list exists.
Amnesty International has implored supporters to do their homework and says the appropriate authorities alone should be tasked with Kony's arrest.
View Gulu, Uganda in a larger map
"Anyone joining the Kony 2012 campaign should insist that efforts to arrest Joseph Kony must respect human rights," it said in a release.
"It is also vital to make sure that any action ensures the protection of civilians in the surrounding areas."
Beyond the conflict in northern Uganda, UNICEF has overseen other important humanitarian projects including education and fighting disease.
By 2010, the youth literacy rate had improved to 90 per cent amongst males aged 15-24 and 85 per cent of females. But major health problems still affect the country - notably the estimated 6.5 per cent of the adult population carrying HIV.
UNICEF states: "Significant investments in children and women in recent years have led to developmental successes in Uganda, notably in primary education and in the fight against HIV/AIDS".
What happens now?
Invisible Children hoped to spark a viral reaction, and the response was far greater than they'd ever imagined. To date, the video has more than 40.7 million views on YouTube and nearly 14 million on Vimeo.
At the time of writing, #konyshows, #stopkony and Uganda were among the top trends on Twitter in Australia. Invisible Children was trending worldwide.
Blanket coverage of the viral video on Facebook has started many discussions. More than 2.3 million follow Invisible Children's group on Facebook.
On the issue of actually catching Joseph Kony, the group wants to have him arrested by December 31. Part of that is the $35 'Action Kit' and the 'Cover the Night' campaign, where they encourage people the world over to cover their cities in Kony posters during the night of April 20.
As for their strategy on the ground, the Ugandan military's involvement is central to their plan. Invisible Children have defended their links with the Government and military, both accused of their own heinous human rights abuses.
"We do not defend any of the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Ugandan government or the Ugandan army (UPDF). None of the money donated through Invisible Children ever goes to the government of Uganda or any other government. Yet the only feasible and proper way to stop Kony and protect the civilians he targets is to coordinate efforts with regional governments."
How do you feel KONY 2012? Are you a Soldier of Peace, or a sceptic?
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