How Kony 2012 brings out the worst in Filipino slacktivism

Joseph Kony is one of the most wanted men in the world. He needs to be stopped. But sharing the Kony 2012 video will not do it.

 

The Kony 2012 video on YouTube has urged netizens to "make Kony famous" by making his name known to all. The creators of the movement from the group Invisible Children claim that enough awareness about Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) atrocities will lead to the US government sending a small army in Uganda to help capture him. With a 30-minute documentary that has had over 75 million views, Invisible Children has started a movement with universal appeal. Who wouldn't want to help bring the world's most wanted man by simply sharing a link?

 

The problem with the Filipino netizens' involvement in Kony 2012 is that it cannot lead to concrete results. In the Kony 2012 video, Invisible Children urged Americans to talk to their representatives in government, claiming that American awareness and concern will drive the US to participate in the drive to capture Kony. This tangible effect cannot be achieved in the Philippines. An Internet movement of Filipinos on Twitter and Facebook will not lead to President Benigno Aquino III sending a troop to Uganda to help. Not that he can; not that he will.

 

There are other ways to foster Filipino involvement. One way is to donate to Invisible Children's cause. With just $30, or around P1,290, one can get a Kony 2012 "Action Kit". The action kit includes a shirt, a poster, stickers, a bracelet, a pin and several posters so people can spread the word to stop Kony. Whether or not Filipinos are willing to spend that much plus shipping to bring the Kony 2012 paraphernalia over is still a mystery, but the likelihood of  them doing so is very much based on the amount of effort they are willing to employ to further the cause.

 

Slacktivism

 

How Filipinos have responded to Kony 2012 can be described as slacktivism. In a 2009 article on Foreignpolicy.com, Evgeny Morozov described slacktivism as "an apt term to describe feel-good online activism that has zero political or social impact. It gives those who participate in "slacktivist" campaigns an illusion of having a meaningful impact on the world without demanding anything more than joining a Facebook group."

 

To the Filipino netizen, the Kony 2012 movement by far is the most heart-tugging cause to have reached our shores. Definitely, it eclipses the 2010 meme involving Facebook users who changed their profile pictures to their favorite cartoon characters "to eliminate violence against children". That effort didn't result to concrete efforts to stop the violence; it just created a lot of nostalgia and banter among friends.

 

The Kony reality

 

As easy it is to Google information about Kony 2012 is to discover that Kony hasn't been in Uganda for more than six years. The video also shows multiple faces of children to represent the 30,000 children that the LRA has allegedly abducted. The visual is so powerful that it may lead viewers to believe that there are tens of thousands of children who form an army in Uganda, who kidnap more children that the LRA can turn into even more soldiers if not sex slaves. 

 

Debunking these insinuations, UK's The Telegraph interviewed Ugandan journalist Rosebell Kagumire, who said: “This paints a picture of Uganda six or seven years ago, that is totally not how it is today. It’s highly irresponsible.”

 

Indeed, Ugandans don't appreciate the sudden pouring of attention on a country that's trying to recover from years of armed conflict, especially when the conflict is long gone.

 

"It is totally misleading to suggest that the war is still in Uganda,” added Fred Opolot in The Telegraph's interview, as he spoke on behalf of the Ugandan government.

 

Criticism of the Invisible Children movement still has some steam, due to the research people are doing about the organization. Tumblr's "Visible Children" reports that before Invisible Children got so much attention this year, it gathered more than $8 million in financial support. It, however, claims that it only spent a fraction of the amount on direct services, as most of the money went to salaries, travel expenses and to the production of their films.

 

Invisible Children come clean

 

With the sudden outpour of criticism over Invisible Children's Kony 2012 campaign, the group has since released an explanation of their efforts. They claim that 80% if their money goes to projects in Uganda, while 16% goes to administration costs and salaries.

 

And with every Kony 2012 team member's attempt to explain and appease doubters come a counterclaim or more. On certain occasions, netizens use the words of Kony 2012 creators to highlight its flaws. The Visible Children Tumblr account has had more than 2 million views mainly due to its ability to report the flipside of the Kony controversy. And in their latest report, they quoted Kony 2012 creator Jedidiah Jenkins who stressed that Invisible Children organization is not an aid organization.

 

"I think people think we're over there delivering shoes or food. But we are an advocacy and awareness organization," said Jenkins.

 

This means that since March 5 when the Kony 2012 video was released, and with more than 500,000 "action kits" worth $15 million sold, the money will not go to the Ugandans that were affected by Joseph Kony. The money will go to "awareness programs" instead.

 

Think before you click on a global scale

 

To be fair to the trusting Filipino, it is difficult to ignore movements when some of the most powerful celebrities here and abroad have jumped on the bandwagon. From Oprah, Rihanna to Anne Curtis, the world's and the country's most influential people online personalities have gone out to spread the word about Kony 2012. They, too, were moved by the video, so much so that they were quick to hit retweet to share it with their followers.

 

While it isn't wrong to retweet moving causes, Filipinos are now challenged to be more discerning. It is important to remember the origin of the word slacktivism to realize that it is deeply rooted in slacking. Little effort results to little furtherance, whatever cause it may be. And in whatever kind of battle, online or otherwise, we should always remember: it's hard to be a warrior when one knows so little about what he's fighting for. —KG/TJD, GMA News