KONY 2012

[Arle985]

So wait, I'm confused. Is this is a scam, or is it real? Some say it's a scam, others are saying it's not. Whut??

Also, that video is just...I dunno, sentimental? Seriously dude, just cut to the chase. Kony is evil. Kthxbai!

The Kony 2012 campaign has been confirmed to be a scam all along. Seriously, you could pretty much tell it is.

[Mono]

All I've been hearing about lately is how shitty the charity is. This movie won't have me forking over any cash.

[Mollfie]

They are really dodgy. They hire their own militias to go out looking for Kony and while they're doing it they can fight and kill people as they go, those people could be Kony's own men but they also could be perfectly innocent people. It's very hard to keep track of people you're paying to go out and kill others.

When you donate money to ANY charity you should research them, even the big names, and see where the money actually goes. In most cases not all that much goes to the actual people/whatever you want to help, most of it goes into wages, paying for advertising and raising the funds in the first place and so on. That's understandable in most cases, but what isn't okay is when people give money to a charity thinking that they're doing a good thing, because that's how it's made to look, when really they're funding some pretty awful actions.

There's also some weird stuff going on which dates back to last year when their leader suggested that it's all to do with Jesus and Evangelizing, implying that Kony 2012 is some kind of Christian propaganda thing. But I dunno.

Personally, I wouldn't go near them. It's all way too dodgy when you start researching into it and reading around.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Mollfie

[Johnny Boy]

So the whole thing was a giant scam? Wow, all I can say is that they really had me thinking about donating. I'm serious.

[Sami]

I don't see any problem with protesting, regardless of the legitimacy of the Invisible Children Organization.

I think a lot can be said for the passion so many well-off American and British people have put into this cause: helping those in need. Is that passion a bit misguided in this case? Well, yeah. But despite being rather cynical about the human race as a whole, I'm very pleased to see so many people spend their time and money to help a cause that has nothing to do with them.

It's rather refreshing to see people actually care for once; however misguided it may be.

[Stacy]

I kinda feel bad for the people who got sucked into this and gave money. I guess this one of real problems with the internet is that you take something very real twist it and distort it then make it big enough that will go viral and make it sympathetic enough and people will believe, I am the only who thinks thats dangerous even though in this case people wanted to do good?

[Mono]

So the whole thing was a giant scam? Wow, all I can say is that they really had me thinking about donating. I'm serious.

Not really a scam, just shady dealings with the organization. What's keeping me from donating is for that reason, but I support the Kony 2012 idea. The bastard really is an evil mother fucker.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Jay Rockman

[Axl.EXE]

So it was a scam the whole time? Honestly can't say I'm surprised, because if it wasn't, then we would have found out sooner. And EVERY US news channel would have been united in bashing the LRA.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Axl

[Mono]

I just said it's not really a scam.

Here, just read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Children,_Inc.#Criticisms

[Badnik Mechanic]

SSMB... I wanna talk about Masturbation.

Now SSMB... Masturbation is a perfectly normal thing.... It's fun... but it's not a game. It's not a game.

So if you are the co-creator of the Kony 2012 video... it's probably not a good idea to do it in public, on a street... totally naked... IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!

Jason Russell the co-creator has been arrested for masturbating in public, on a street corner, completely naked. He has been filmed and the video has been uploaded to the internet and now the question is will this get as many hits as the Kony 2012 video.

I'm trying to find a source which doesn't show the video because... well it's kinda strange. According to his supporters and people involved with 'Invisible children' he has suffered a breakdown brought on by exhaustion...

Wow... Now excuse me... I'm off to laugh my head off. Here is some appropriate music.

A safe for work source:

Note: most news sites that have the vieo just show a naked person... sorta dancing on a street corner, they don't actually show the urm... performance?

Edited March 17, 2012 by Hogfather

[Mono]

Nothing like a good outside jerk off.

edit: with alcohol

Edited March 17, 2012 by Jay Rockman

[vercetti2021]

I've been skeptical about this Kony 2012 thing. I hear this dude is dead or happened years ago.

[Stacy]

Another reason why you shouldn't give them your cash, fucking hipsters.

[Giza]

I also really hate how he kills and abducts "in the name of God". Look buddy, maybe you need to read the Ten Commandments again and notice one of them is THOU SHALL NOT KILL!

[Stacy]

Seen the breakdown video all I can say is Hide Yo Kids, Hide Yo Wife and Hide Yo Husbands because there's a hipster running around naked!

Edited March 18, 2012 by BW199148

[Patticus]

Thou shall not murder would be a better translation. Killing in a war or conflict like the one presented would not go against the commandment.

Surely that's just the sort of thing Kony himself would say (as so many other powerful Christians have in the past) to justify senseless, barbaric and un-Christian killings in un-Christian wars? He, as they did, would use that to draw a clear line between "killing infidels* in the name of God," and "murder," when in fact both are just people killing people, and are as awful and immoral as each other.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Patticus

[EXshad]

I can't say whether or not the video itself is a scam or not. There's a lot of arguments that could be made to justify it or tear it down that are both pretty legitimate. However, I think there's something we're forgetting.

That's right. Youtube money. Or, more specifically, the advertising revenue that is generated by highly-viewed videos that are distributed by Youtube partners.

Now, how it works is if these videos are attracting a large volume of viewers, and don't violate anyone's copyrights (what determines what is and isn't "copyright infringement" is bullshit and should be discussed later), they can be shown alongside advertisements who pay to have their advertisements shown. The more hits the video makes, the more times the ads are also seen and/or played, and the more money is accumulated. As a result, the video's creator receives a large portion of the money. I can't claim to know the nitty-gritty, but in short, the more times these ads that are short before or alongside the video are seen, the more revenue can be generated.

Keep in mind that, at the video creator's discretion, these ads can be disabled in order to get the point across without being bombarded with ads, at the cost of the video not being able to generate revenue.

With that said, let's watch the KONY 2012 video. I'm watching it now, and right next to the video there is an add for BMW. Right before I watch the video, there is also an advertisement for Crest Toothpaste. Meanwhile, the whole message that the video itself is trying to convey is that it needs to spread like wildfire. Y'know, to "stop Kony before it's too late" and to inform as many people as quickly as possible. In doing so, the viewership of the video is well into 8 figures and has probably generated oodles of the green stuff.

Now, could this ad revenue be going to fight the cause? Perhaps. It's a nice thought. However, after seeing Jason Russell go coocoo for meth on a street corner, I have my doubts. Factor that in with the recently released earnings and spendings report released by Invisible Children themselves, where only approximately 30% actually goes directly to these causes (directly being the keyword). Finally, consider that they STILL ask for people to directly give them donations, out of their own pockets, in addition to gaining advertising revenue from the film.

Hey, I ain't trying to bring down the mood or anything, I just think we should be very cautious about this whole thing, 'cause it's definitely making a lot of money, and they could be piggy-backing off of a very real and very dangerous situation to do it.

Edited March 18, 2012 by EXshad

[Giza]

Surely that's just the sort of thing Kony himself would say (as so many other powerful Christians have in the past) to justify senseless, barbaric and un-Christian killings in un-Christian wars? He, as they did, would use that to draw a clear line between "killing infidels* in the name of God," and "murder," when in fact both are just people killing people, and are as awful and immoral as each other.

Well it isn't very hard for them to do so. The Hebrew isn't telling you not to kill in any situation. It is telling people, arguably specifically Israelis, not to commit murder on to one another. It becomes easy to justify because of the killing that the Judeo-Christian god not only permits but actively promotes in the old testament. I agree that killing in all these circumstances are terrible, but the bible makes a distinction in the 10 commandments. Kony is a nut job but I wouldn't say that his religious justifications are unfounded. I just don't see religious justifications as something that can be used as justification for that doesn't concern someone other than the one making the action.

Invisible Children inc. has caused quite a few problems in Uganda by working with and supporting religious organizations that were willing to help them accomplish their goals. Some reports claim that the organization worked with and supported pastor Martin Ssempa. In case you never heard of Martin Ssempa, he is a strong advocate of the Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill which would make homosexual acts be punishable by the death penalty. This doesn't come as much of a surprise because Invisible Children has taken donations from many organizations from anti-gay groups, including one that had founded a lot of the promotion of the UAHB.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Giza