Recently, the Invisible Children campaign, Kony 2012, dominated Facebook and Twitter. Kony 2012 is a campaign to raise awareness of the injustices of Joseph Kony. Kony kidnaps children from their homes in Uganda to fight for the LRA. These children are forced to perform hideous acts, and females are forced into sex slavery. With the Kony 2012 campaign, Invisible Children hopes to raise money and support for the cause, which is to send soldiers to Uganda to hunt down Kony.
Obviously, this is a cause worth the public’s attention. However, many people have only seen the Kony 2012 video, posted a status on Facebook, and moved on from caring about the topic. This happens with many things related to social action. Many people believe that publicizing something once on their Facebook or Twitter makes them a social activist – but this is not the case.
People posted status after status and tweeted “Kony 2012!!!!” or “make him famous – Kony 2012.” While it is important for the word to be spread about such organized events, just posting a status to your personal group of friends does not do much.
Many of those posting status updates or tweeting are not interested in donating their own money. If everyone just spreads the word, who will donate the money to the organization? Not too many. But still, publicity will help the organization accomplish its goal. The push from the public has the possibility to encourage lawmakers to send troops to fight Kony, for example.
While there is a cycle of people doing superficial things for an organization, there are those few that actually do take action and donate. Also, an excuse of those not donating to Kony 2012 could be that Invisible Children said “donate just a few dollars per month.” But Tri-Peace members looking to buy an action kit are required to pay a minimum of $15 per month. Especially with high school students, funds are tight and well as possibly non-existent, making that level of action nearly impossible.
Another bit that doesn’t help the Kony campaign is that it was revealed to be a scam. One blog devoted to unraveling the scheme stated that “Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32 percent went to direct services, with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production.” Many people blindly support the campaign with the thought that they are doing a good deed. Well, unfortunately much of the public has been duped. This blind support is yet another reason posting to social media does not make an individual a social activist.
The importance of publicity for social action organizations should not be ignored. It is extremely important for people to be informed of issues around the world and to spread the word to others who will potentially support a cause.
But still, those who only post a status or tweet to go along with the fad should know that this does not make them a social activist. So here’s the take-home message: Go ahead and support certain causes with publicity, but don’t let the feeling of social action get to your head.