If both sides are guilty of alleged crimes, why is this charity sponsoring the Ugandan military?
That's the question many people are asking, including a blog post entitled Visible Children, the work of a college student in Canada that has been passed around as a counterpoint to the charity's film. The founders of the charity didn't help themselves by posing, armed with weapons, in a picture with the Ugandan military that has popped up on various websites, leading some to cry that Invisible Children is only concerned with capturing Kony through the support of military action.
So, where does the money that people donate go?
That's another point of contention across the Internet. The bulk of Invisible Children's donations go towards awareness campaigns in America rather than to resources in Africa. Another non-profit that measures the transparency of charities isn't too high on Invisible Children.
So what does Invisible Children say to its critics?
Jason Russell, the founder of Invisible Children and director of the film, brushed back accusations about the way his charity operates and his message about Kony.
"We don't like war — we want to end war. I'm a pacifist at heart," he said in a television interview. "This is going to take a strategic force of last resort to go in and capture him."
As criticism rose over the course of Wednesday, Invisible Children released a lengthy blog post addressing all of their main points, including a breakdown of of their operating expenses.
[See pictures of Egyptians protesting against the ruling military.]
So what comes next?
According to the movie, Invisible Children has rounded up 20 celebrities and 12 policy makers who they will target to help spread the message about Kony. Among the politicans the charity wants to get involved are former president George W. Bush, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Among the celebrities the charity wants people to target are Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jay-Z and Rush Limbaugh.
Rush Limbaugh is involved?
Oddly enough. In a graphic shown in the video, tucked in the bottom left hand corner, Limbaugh's face appears. While Invisible Children probably produced the video way before the conservative radio host became the ire of Georgetown University, this wouldn't be Limbaugh's first time adressing the LRA.
When President Obama first sent the 100 U.S. military advisers to Uganda, Limbaugh chastised the move on his show, saying the president sent "a hundred troops to wipe out Christians in Sudan, Uganda." He later backed off after realizing his source at the time, Wikipedia, might have gotten the facts on LRA wrong.
This campaign appears to have legs, what is the next big event?
Barring something unforseen, those who donate to the cause will be sent action kits full of posters, stickers and signs that people will post in order to fulfill the promise of making Kony "famous." Those promoting the charity cause can organize and follow the progress of the campaign on the charity's website and other social media outlets.
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AA of ID 6:19PM March 08, 2012