Kony 2012 - Why it's a fraud

156  2012-03-12 by 9_meals_from_anarchy

Before jumping on the Kony bandwagon, consider the following:

The Kony 2012 documentary was filmed in 2003 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Children

Invisible Children's Kony campaign goes viral just as Lord's Resistance Army is dying

3/9/12

While a viral video has helped millions of people discover the Lord’s Resistance Army, the video conceals a key reality on the ground: the LRA is a rapidly weakening force, and probably a dying organization, reduced to stealing food from villagers to survive. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/invisible-childrens-kony-campaign-goes-viral-just-as-lords-resistance-army-is-dying/article2363751/

Uganda: Oil Reserves Rival Saudi Arabia's, Says U.S. Expert

6/2/2009

Kampala — Uganda's oil reserves could be as much as that of the Gulf countries, a senior official at the US Department of Energy has said. http://allafrica.com/stories/200906020555.html

CNOOC weighs Uganda refinery

2/22/12

BEIJING - China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's biggest marine oil producer, is negotiating with Uganda to participate in the African country's first refinery, adjacent to the Lake Albert Basin. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-02/22/content_14671106.htm

China's CNOOC in talks on Uganda refinery: report

2/23/12

China has deepened links with resource-rich African nations in recent years as it looks to secure key commodities to feed its breakneck growth. http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-cnooc-talks-uganda-refinery-report-055224377.html

Invisible Children answers critics on web

3/9/12

Yet many have questioned Invisible Children's motives, citing the distribution of its money and its willingness to co-operate with the corrupt Ugandan government. http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Invisible+Children+answers+critics/6275492/story.html

Guest post: Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)

3/7/12

Following a successful campaign by the Ugandan military and failed peace talks in 2006, the LRA was pushed out of Uganda and has been operating in extremely remote areas of the DRC, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic -- where Kony himself is believed to be now. The Ugandan military has been pursuing the LRA since then but had little success (and several big screw-ups). http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things

Guilt has been used to cause the public to support a war before, recall nurse Nayirah prior to the gulf war http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmfVs3WaE9Y Her story turned out to be a staged testimony to gain support for the invasion of Iraq in 1990 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_(testimony)

Obama sends 100 troops to combat LRA in Uganda

10/14/11

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/14/obama-sends-troops-uganda

Visible Children offers criticism of the charity, Invisible Children http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

33 comments

You should make a facebook page with all this information available on it so the masses can see they were used and abused.

don't have one - feel free to spread this info http://pastebin.com/UePfaqXV

I'd shake your hand if I could. You're like the 2nd person to say they don't have a Facebook. That makes 3 of us now...

[deleted]

deleting yours and not having one are very different. Go punch in your log in information again and try to log back in.

It will be right there. Go check, we'll wait.

Deleting your Facebook is impossible.. They keep every picture, word, or link you've ever posted..

But you're soo BRAVE....

Is this actually true? I thought deleting your account deleted all your pics/ posts?

Totally true. They own every single image posted. They use ask these fancy photographer's uploads as marketing material. Google +, however, does not. You own everything you post. But it's a desert wasteland.

Welp, that is the final straw, I will be moving to G+ soon, fuck anyone who doesn't come with me. d: Good thing I'm not stupid and don't have any incriminating photos, though I do have embarrassing ones from my youth. Uhhhg.

Good luck man.. Like I said, it's a barren waste land. It's superior in every way, but not main stream enough for everyone to jump the Facebook ship.

Too late. The propaganda's already sunk in. Damn you, psychology!

Its never too late! Never!

If anyone can read french, I wrote this for my school newspaper today:

Le 5 mars 2012, une vidéo exigeant l’arrêt du chef militaire barbare, Joseph Kony de l’Ouganda fut diffusé. Cette article a comme but d’informer le publique de ce qui ce passe vraiment en Ouganda et de clarifier les buts de Invisible Children. Le film de 30 minutes, créé par Invisible Children Inc, nous explique, très simplement, les atrocités faites par Kony, incluant le recrutement d’enfants de guerre, la mutilation des ougandais, la violation de jeunes filles et plusieurs crimes de guerre. Il est comparé à Adolf Hitler, juste pour faire sur qu’on sait qu’il est mauvais. Jusqu’à date, la vidéo a plus de 70 millions de vues sur YouTube et grandit très rapidement. Jason Russell, le créateur du film Kony 2012, explique d’une manière très élémentaire pourquoi Kony est un monstre et comment nous devons l’arrêter : à l’aide de l’intervention et support militaire des États-Unis en Uganda. Mais pour que ceci fonctionne, il faut que vous, les jeunes qui veulent changer le monde, faites des dons à la compagnie de Kony et mettre des affiches de Kony 2012 partout en ville! Cependant, avant de sauter sur ce train, il faut premièrement faire de la recherche. Car, même si le vidéo est très attirant et a le pouvoir de vous faire pleurer et sentir mal pour les enfants ougandais, il y a quelques informations fausses.

Invisible Children a été condamné à quelques reprises pour plusieurs raisons. L’année passée, ils ont fait 8 676 614$, mais ont seulement utilisé 32% pour les services directs en Ouganda1. Beaucoup du reste était utilisé pour les salaires d’employés, le transport et la production de films. Le site web «Charity Navigator» a évalué Invisible Children et leur a donné une note de 2/4 pour leur manque d’audit externe. Si vous pensiez qu’il ne peut rien avoir de pire que cela, je m’excuse mais vous êtes très naïfs, mes amis. Invisible Children n’a fait virtuellement aucun effort d’informer. Seulement une fois, à 15 minutes dans le film, il y a une image d’une carte qui démontre que le LRA est partie de l’Ouganda du Nord et est partie vers l’Ouest mais ils font penser que le LRA est encore un menace pour les Ougandais. Plutôt qu’expliquer la situation d’Ouganda en 2012, il nous montre des vidéos prisent d’un Ouganda en 2003. À ce temps là, Kony et son armée, le Lords Resistance Army était à son plus fort et forçait les jeunes à ce cacher la nuit pour pas se faire kidnapper par lui. C’était en 2003. Aujourd’hui, il y a de la paix relative en Ouganda, avec le LRA chassé hors du pays par le militaire Ougandais. Il y a plusieurs autres problèmes avec Invisible Children, mais maintenant il faut aller un peu plus creux pour découvrir les vraies intentions de la campagne Kony2012.

L’argent que vous donnez pour supporter les enfants de l’Ouganda aide à supporter le militaire ougandais et autres forces militaires, comme l’Armée populaire de libération du Soudan. Le militaire Ougandais et l’APLS sont connus pour des atrocités pires que ceux du LRA. Ils sont accusés de meutre, pillage, violation et l’utilisation de plus d’enfants soldats que Kony. Ils ont tués et torturés plus de 7 millions d’humains et, en plus, ces forces militaires ne sont même pas dans les pays où le LRA est situé, ils étaient poussé jusqu’en Congo par l’armée. C’est comme donner des fonds à la France pour arrêter un criminel en Allemagne! Quand Invisible Children étaient questionné au sujet du support de ces forces militaires, ils ont défendu leur décision en expliquant que l’armée ougandais est «mieux équipé que les autres pays affectés». En ce moment, Joseph Kony se cache dans le Forêt National du Garamba en Congo et il est impuissant. L’Ouganda est en route vers la paix et les rebelles cherchent la paix aussi. Donc, quels sont les vrais complots derrière Kony 2012? Sous les rivages pittoresques, il y a des richesses. Il y a assez de pétrole pour changer la fortune de l’Ouganda. En production optimale, environ 150 millions barils de pétroles par jour pourra être extrait de ces endroits. En ce moment, les industries sont en train d’explorer plusieurs des richesses, creusant jusqu’à quatre kilomètres dans la terre.

Le 6 février 2007, Président Bush avait annoncé la création d’un commandement américaine en Afrique, nommé AFRICOM. Le but était de se battre contre la Terreur sur la terre Africaine et protégé les ressources d’huiles. AFRICOM était le début de l’expansion de l’empreinte militaire américaine sur le continent africain. Dans la dernière décennie, la Chine avait investi dans l’industrie pétrolière africaine plus que jamais, du Guinée jusqu’en Soudan. Quand la Chine a commencé à avoir une plus grande influence en Afrique, les politiciens américains ont commencés à s’inquiété. En 2007, le journaliste David Blair a noté que la Chine avait investi £30 000 000 000 en 2006, il explique que la Chine se prépare pour une guerre de ressources avec les autres puissances mondiales. Comme la lutte pour des ressources qui deviennent de plus en plus rare comme l’eau potable, pétrole, et métaux, «tout compte». Tout est devenu à propos d’une guerre de ressources entre la Chine et les États-Unis pendant que la Chine devient le pays le plus puissant dans le monde.

À cause de la montée de tensions dans la Guerre Froide entre les États-Unis et la Chine, en octobre 2011, Obama a pratiquement envahi l’Ouganda à l’aide de 100 soldats américains en Ouganda sans la permission du congrès américain ou le gouvernement ougandais. Le film décrit que les 100 soldats était des conseillers humanitaires, ce qui n’est pas vrai. Ils sont allés en Ouganda pour montrer à la Chine que l’Ouganda appartient aux États-Unis et ils ne vont pas laissé la Chine prendre ce territoire.

Le film est possiblement le meilleur film de propagande de cette année. Débutons avec l’affiche officielle, la face de Kony et derrière lui sont situés les faces de Osama bin Laden et Hitler. Comme la loi de Godwin le dit, «Plus une discussion en ligne dure longtemps, plus la probabilité d'y trouver une comparaison impliquant les nazis ou Adolf Hitler s'approche de 1». Le film a l’aire d’une session de «brainwash». Premièrement, ils nous font sentir content et relaxe. En écoutant le film, j’étais affecté émotionnellement mais je savais que des recherches supplémentaires étaient nécessaires. En écoutant le film pour une deuxième fois, je me suis aperçu des jeux psychologiques qu’ils jouent sur nous. En premier, ils nous relaxent et nous font sentir content. Le bonheur est l’état psychologique le plus facile à nous faire ressentir. Après ces temps de bien-être, ils nous montrent quelque chose de très triste et nous devenons de la pâte à modeler dans leurs mains et, à ce point, ils peuvent nous vendre n’importe quoi comme la solution à cette tristesse. Cependant, ce qu’ils nous vendent est l’intervention militaire des États-Unis (pour ceux qui ne le savent pas, ceci n’est pas une bonne chose, voyez ce qui s’est passé après l’intervention militaire en Iraq, Afghanistan, Libye, etc.).

Il est claire que ce n’est pas à propos de sauver les enfants de l’Ouganda. Si c’était, le film ne serait pas à propos d’un seigneur de guerre, dont il y a des rumeurs qu’Il est mort, qui n’est plus en Ouganda. C’est à propos de l’augmentation des forces militaires américaines en Ouganda. Si qu’ils voulaient vraiment aider les enfants d’Ouganda, ils seraient contre le Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et les compagnies de diamants qui causent des guerres civiles, comme en Sierra Leone. La stupidité et ironie est démontré dans la manière qu’ils demandent à des criminels de guerres pires que Kony, comme George W. Bush et Condoleezza Rice, Obama, etc. d’intervenir en Ouganda. Un autre aspect presque drôle du film est le fait qu’ils vendent pratiquement des trousses d’activismes préemballés et disent que «Toi aussi, peut devenir un activiste». Ils exploitent le mouvement de la jeunesse et la mode hipster.

En conclusion, il est claire que le film «Kony 2012» est simplement un autre exemple de propagande pro-guerre et pro-interventionnisme. Juste comme l’histoire des bébés koweïtiens tués par des soldats irakiens, juste comme l’histoire des 19 hommes, armées de couteaux ont pu détourner le système de sécurité aérienne le plus avancé de la planète le 11 septembre 2001, juste comme l’histoire que l’Iraq a des Armements de Destruction Massive, juste comme l’histoire que Gaddafi est un dictateur meurtrier qui tue ses propres citoyens, juste comme l’histoire qu’Assad et son armé est oppressive et est détesté par son peuple, juste comme l’histoire qu’Iran produit des bombes nucléaires, l’histoire de Kony 2012 est un mensonge pour bénéficié l’agenda de l’1% des États-Unis, de l'Ouganda et de la Chine. Il se peut que notre société soit une de haute intelligence, mais nous sommes aussi une société qui n’a pas de bon sens. Nous sommes une société où les penseurs critiques sont des théoriciens de conspiration. Nous sommes devenus une société contre le questionnement des supérieurs, une société de moutons qui mangent chaque miette de gazon que le gouvernement et les médias nous racontent. Mais il y a une miette d’espoir. Avec Kony 2012, il y a plusieurs personnes qui ont questionné le mouvement depuis le début, même si tout le monde et leur mère leur dit que Kony est un démon, ils font leurs propres recherches. Aussi, il y a plusieurs médias qui en critiquent aussi. Nous sommes arrivés à un point de bousculement, une intersection. Nous pouvons soit resté dans la prison du Matrix forcée sur nous par notre gouvernement et continuer de vivre dans une société basée sur la relation entre nous, notre télévision et ce que nous consommons, ou nous pouvons changer.

EDIT 2: Message me if you would like to view my sources, can't post 'em here since I'd be past the character limit.

I don't speak French but I read through it and recognized, I think some of what you are saying. The money doesn't go to the kids. The American government is using the film to brainwash the youth into supporting the militarization of Africa to combat the increasing Chinese presence there. And finally, that this would only be beneficial to the 1%.

Courtesy of Google translate:

March 5, 2012, a video requiring the cessation of barbarian warlord, Joseph Kony of Uganda was released. This article has as objective to inform the public of what this really happening in Uganda and clarify the goals of Invisible Children. The 30-minute film, created by Invisible Children Inc., explains, very simply, the atrocities made by Kony, including the recruitment of children of war, the dismemberment of Uganda, the violation of young girls and many war crimes. It is compared to Adolf Hitler, just to make you aware of that is bad. To date, the video has over 70 million views on YouTube and grows very quickly. Jason Russell, the creator of the film Kony in 2012, explains in a very elementary why Kony is a monster and how we should stop it: by using intervention and support U.S. military in Uganda. But for this to work, you must, young people who want to change the world, make donations to the company and put up posters Kony Kony's 2012 all over town! However, before jumping on this train, you must first do research. For even if the video is very attractive and has the power to make you cry and feel bad for the children of Uganda, there are some false information. Invisible Children has been convicted several times for several reasons. Last year they made $ 8,676,614, but only 32% used for direct services in Uganda1. Many of the remainder was used for salaries of employees, transport and film production. The website "Charity Navigator" Invisible Children has assessed and given them a rating of 2/4 for their lack of external audit. If you thought that nothing can be worse than that, I'm sorry but you are very naive, my friends. Invisible Children has made virtually no effort to inform. Only once, 15 minutes into the film, there is an image of a map showing that the LRA is part of Northern Uganda is a party and to the West but they suggest that the LRA is still a threat for Ugandans. Rather than explain the situation in Uganda in 2012, he shows us a snuff videos Uganda in 2003. At that time, Kony and his army, the Lords Resistance Army was at its strongest and forced the young to hide for the night not being kidnapped by him. That was in 2003. Today, there is relative peace in Uganda, the LRA out of the country hunted by the military Ugandans. There are several other problems with Invisible Children, but now we must go a little hollow to discover the true intentions of the campaign Kony2012. The money you give to support the children of Uganda helps support the Ugandan military and other militaries, such as the People's Liberation Army in Sudan. The Ugandan military and the SPLA are notorious for atrocities worse than those of the LRA. They are accused of murder, pillage, violation and use of more child soldiers than Kony. They killed and tortured more than 7 million people and, increasingly, these military forces are not even in countries where the LRA is located, they were pushed up by the Congo army. It's like giving money to France to stop a criminal in Germany! When Invisible Children were asked about the support of the military, they defended their decision by explaining that the Ugandan army is "better equipped than other countries affected." Right now, Joseph Kony is hiding in the Garamba National Forest in Congo and he is impotent. Uganda is on the way to peace and rebels seek peace also. So what are the real conspiracy behind Kony in 2012? Beneath the picturesque shores, there are riches. There is enough oil to change the fortunes of Uganda. Optimal production, approximately 150 million barrels of oil per day could be extracted from these places. Right now, industries are exploring more of the wealth, digging up to four kilometers into the earth. On 6 February 2007, President Bush announced the creation of a U.S. command in Africa, called AFRICOM. The aim was to fight against terror on the earth and protected African oil resources. AFRICOM was the beginning of the expansion of U.S. military footprint on the African continent. In the last decade, China had invested in the African oil industry more than ever, of Guinea to Sudan. When China began to have greater influence in Africa, American politicians have started to worry. In 2007, journalist David Blair noted that China had invested 30 billion pounds in 2006, he explained that China is preparing for a war of resources with other world powers. As the struggle for resources that are becoming increasingly rare as drinking water, oil, and metals, "on balance". Everything has become about a resource war between China and the U.S. while China becomes the most powerful country in the world. Because of rising tensions in the Cold War between the U.S. and China, in October 2011, Obama has virtually invaded Uganda with 100 American soldiers in Uganda without the permission of the U.S. Congress or the government Uganda. The film shows that 100 soldiers were humanitarian advisers, which is not true. They went to Uganda to show China that Uganda belongs to the United States and they will not let China take the territory. The film is possibly the best propaganda film of this year. Let's start with the official poster, the face of Kony and are located behind the faces of Osama bin Laden and Hitler. As Godwin's Law says, "More an online discussion lasts longer, the probability of finding a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." The movie has the area of a session of "brainwashing." First, they make us feel happy and relaxed. Listening to the movie, I was emotionally affected but I knew that more research was needed. By listening to the movie a second time, I realized the psychological games they play on us. First, they relax us and make us feel happy. Happiness is the psychological state the easiest to make us feel. After a time of well-being, they show us something very sad and we become the clay in their hands, so they can sell us anything like the solution to this sadness. However, what they sell us is the military intervention of the United States (for those who do not know, this is not a good thing, see what happened after the military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc..). It is clear that this is not about saving the children of Uganda. If it was, the film is not about a warlord, who there are rumors that he died, which is no longer in Uganda. It is about increasing U.S. military forces in Uganda. If they really wanted to help children in Uganda, they would be against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the diamond companies that cause civil wars, as in Sierra Leone. The irony and stupidity is demonstrated in the way they want to war criminals worse than Kony, like George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, Obama, etc.. to intervene in Uganda. Another aspect of the film is almost funny that they sell almost prepackaged kits activism and say "You too, can become an activist." They exploit the youth movement and fashion hipster. In conclusion, it is clear that the film "2012 Kony" is just another example of pro-war and pro-interventionism. Just like the story of Kuwaiti babies by Iraqi soldiers killed, just like the story of 19 men armed with knives have diverted the flight safety system the most advanced in the world September 11, 2001, just as history that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, just like the story that Gaddafi is a murderous dictator who kills his own citizens, just like the story that Assad and his army is oppressive and is hated by his people, just like history that Iran produces nuclear bomb, the story of 2012 Kony is a lie to benefit the agenda of the 1% of the United States. It may be that our society is a high intelligence, but we are also a society that does not make sense. We are a society where critical thinkers are conspiracy theorists. We have become a society against the questioning of superiors, a society of sheep eat grass every crumb of the government and media tell us. But there was a crumb of hope. Kony with 2012, there are several people who questioned the move since the beginning, even if everyone and their mother told them that Kony is a demon, they do their own research. Also, there are many who criticize the media too. We arrived at a point of calling into an intersection. We remained in the prison of Matrix forced on us by our government and continue to live in a society based on the relationship between us, our television and what we eat, or we can change.

Thanks!

Please, rajoute des paragraphes et des interlignes STP:

Comme çà (trois retour-chariot après "STP").

Un p'tit coup de correcteurs orthographique aussi, peut-être? En tout cas merci de ton action.

//

Please put some lines between blocs of texte + spell checking. Anyway thanks for your action.

Oui, quand je l'avais fini, j'étais si excité à le mettre sur Reddit que je ne l'ai pas corrigé :P Je vais prendre du temps maintenant pour en faire. Merci pour le support!

you said that the kony 2012 message benefits the agenda of the 1% of the US but its also the 1% of china and 1% of uganda and whoever else will be involved with the making and profiting of these new refineries. I know its easy to get messages across blaming the US on a lot because the US has been involved in a lot of bad shit, but lets also shed light on the people that the US works with.

Thanks, I will make sure to add this. It's true that I can get carried away some times :P

You forgot that video by the girl with Ugandan parents who said that not only are the more or less nonexistent now in Uganda, Kony's believed to have died 5 years ago.

just like Osama was prolly dead before 9/11

"This man's been dead for 15 years, why did you have to shoot him in the face!"

do you have the link?

You know what bug me the most? I feel so stupid jumping on the bandwagon that is "KONY 2012". I watched it very early when it got released and my initial reaction was "hmm, this seems like a good cause lets spread it", then only 12 hours later I realized the real intention. Nonetheless it still makes me feel stupid for not realizing what really was going on when I watched the video...

Its a well put together video that hits on all the soft emotional points of being human. Don't feel guilty.

Its scientifically constructed for maximum psychological impact.

Upvote to support discourse on a topic and perspectives of all sides.

If you saw KONY 2012 and want to help Uganda, then check out this iPhone game “Raise the Village.” -- http://bit.ly/sNHI72 -- I’m on the development team and we give aid directly to a village in Uganda that was ransacked by the LRA. Basically, you build a virtual village and simultaneously help a real one reach sustainability.

Good compilation of information.

When I first heard about the whole Kony thing I simply didn't care, then when I realized how crazy it was getting support I knew I had to look into it more.

I can't believe how easy this one is to see through. This is even more immediately obvious than Osama Bin Ladin. I just hope this time we don't lose any more American lives to the "Terrorists".

With all that oil Uganda has, I wouldn't be surprised if we send our troops over to "take care of Kony".

I just find it stunning how many people buy into it... You show some vids of sad kids and people get riled up, even if they don't know the intricacies or the best way to deal with it.

'Fraud' is probably pushing it, but I'm not a fan of the video and have made no secret of it.

Invisible Children disabled the comments on the video because they are afraid of all the comments accusing them of fraud and running a scam, please for those of you that use social networking if you care about this please do anything you can to expose these criminals and their view on freedom of speech, it would seem like they don't find freedom of speech to be good

Good luck man.. Like I said, it's a barren waste land. It's superior in every way, but not main stream enough for everyone to jump the Facebook ship.