Kony 2012: Why and How a 30-Minutes Documentary Video on Ugandan Warlord Went Viral

Joseph Kony, LRA leader — Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Maj Gen Joseph Kony holds his son, Opiyo, to show a softer side that does not translate to what his rebels are doing in DR Congo Reuters

Many of you might have already heard, read, or seen that 30 minutes video about Kony 2012. It is a campaign to make Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a famous man in hopes that governments around the world will take notice and do something about the crisis that has been going on in Uganda for over 26 years under Kony’s regime.

Who is Joseph Kony?

Joseph Kony is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader, head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). While initially enjoying strong public support, the LRA turned brutally on its own supporters, supposedly to purify the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy ruled by Kony's self-styled version of the Ten Commandments.

Over the years, Kony and his LRA kidnapped over 40,000 children who were then forced to be a part of Kony’s child soldier army. These same children were even forced to kill their parents, and if they refused, Kony and his loyal followers would mutilate or kill these children for disobeying.

Kony has been causing havoc on Ugandans for over 26 years. During this time the international community did little to put his rein to an end, leave alone freeing the children forced under Kony’s rule to walk with a gun and kill innocent civilians.

This 30 minute video, which is made possible by the non-profit NGO Invisible Children, is aiming to bring to light Kony’s actions and make him famous. By making Kony famous, the international community would have no choice but to act and help the Ugandan forces once and for all bring Kony to justice.

Before the video went viral, majority of the world never knew who Kony was; no one knew the nightmare Ugandans were forced to go through on a daily basis. Of course, many governments knew of the atrocities Kony and his LRA have been committing on civilians but they did little to help. Of course, Kony is no Bin Laden, but he is still committing crimes against humanity and needs to be brought to justice.

Thanks to the Invisible Children video, which has so far risen to over 50 million views on YouTube, Joseph Kony is finally getting the attention he deserves, and hopefully the attention that will bring him to justice.

Why Kony 2012 went viral

Helping the video to go viral was not an easy task, but with the help of celebrities such as Rihanna, Oprah, Will Smith, J.K Rowling, and Justin Bieber, Kony 2012 is pushing on to become a massive success.

Other help came from thousands of teenagers who took the time out to campaign on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, and other social networking websites to get the word across. This all proves how effective we can be when we combine our strengths and focus it on the task at hand.

Check out for yourself below why the Kony 2012 video went viral.