Why is kony famous

To all of those who used their voice and donated during the Kony campaign: thank you. Your support has made the past four years and the exciting years to come possible. In many ways, KONY was an experiment. Can an online video make an obscure war criminal famous? And if he is famous, will the world work together to stop him? More than million views in just 6 days, and 3. But our work is not done.

The same vulnerabilities that have allowed him to violently exploit communities and wildlife in central Africa still exist, and have attracted other violent groups. Significantly expand programs that counteract LRA violence and protect communities in central Africa. Make Joseph Kony a household name, and get as many people as possible to pledge their support for efforts to stop LRA violence. International leaders and young people alike committed to doing anything they could to end the conflict.

In November of , thousands rallied in Washington, DC, in solidarity with LRA-affected communities, as international leaders came together to renew their support to ending LRA violence. Simultaneously, we were able to expand our programs in central Africa in ways we never thought possible. KONY thrust the LRA crisis into the international spotlight and enabled incredible progress toward bringing it to an end. It is a remarkably emotive piece of film-making, but the social media campaign that has run in tandem with the film is what has "changed the rules".

Its aim is to raise global awareness of Kony - to make him famous - "not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice".

As the filmmaker Jason Russell explains, less than one per cent of the world knows who Kony is, however, if people knew what he had done, they would demand action. Thanks to the efforts of Russell and Invisible Children, the US government last year committed military advisors to join the Ugandan army to help train and co-ordinate Kony's capture.

But that support could be withdrawn at any moment if public opinion does not keep decision-makers committed. Late Wednesday, Channel Seven's Weekend Sunrise program announced it would be departing from its usual format this Sunday for a special on Kony, also asking its viewers to mass in Martin Place, Sydney, from am.

Invisible Children's organisers have targeted April 20 as a day of global action, where supporters will paper their cities with "hundreds of thousands of posters demanding justice". More than 50, Australians have reportedly already signed up. Of course, with publicity comes criticism, and many internet users are now questioning the transparency of Invisible Children's fundraising efforts , the amount of money it dedicates to its programs and where that money actually goes.

Others ask why Joseph Kony, when so many other dictators and murderers have run wild - particularly in Africa - for decades?

Foreign Affairs magazine alleges that advocacy groups such as Invisible Children, Human Rights Watch and World Vision "have manipulated facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA's use of innocent children as soldiers, and portraying Kony - a brutal man, to be sure - as uniquely awful, a Kurtz-like embodiment of evil.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reports that "critics point out the campaign calls on the public to pressurise the US to continue working with the Ugandan military, an organisation that has its own record of abuses". He was also immortal, the captain added. He has created an aura of mysticism around himself and his rebels follow strict rules and rituals. They say that the oil is the power of the Holy Spirit.

He has also used terror to maintain control, beating and killing followers who were caught trying to flee. Some former fighters have said they complied with the leader's orders out of fear. Ex-commander Kenneth Banya told the BBC in that he had sex with a minor because he was threatened with death if he left her alone. Mr Kony has described himself as a "freedom fighter" but has been accused of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in the north of Uganda.

He has used biblical references to explain why it was necessary to kill his own people, since they had, in his view, failed to support his cause. In his first interview in , filmed at his jungle base at the time in DR Congo , he insisted he was not the monster he was portrayed to be.

I cannot cut the ear of my brother; I cannot kill the eye of my brother. Mr Kony's fighters continued to spread terror targeting and killing local people for provisions. They later moved to CAR where they acted more like a criminal outfit engaging in poaching and illegal mining. There have been attempts to make peace, but talks fell apart in because the LRA leader wanted assurances that he and his allies would not be prosecuted. But some LRA fighters are being prosecuted.

Other key figures have either been killed, captured, or have given themselves up. Mr Kony's global notoriety increased in because of the social media campaign that used the hashtag Kony A video posted online by the US advocacy group Invisible Children was watched tens of millions of times.

It inspired a public outcry, which included celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, to boost the hunt for Mr Kony. About US troops had already been deployed to central Africa in to support an African Union-led mission against the LRA, but Kony increased the pressure to get results. The film proved controversial, especially in Uganda, where critics said it oversimplified a complex subject, but Invisible Children said it succeeded in extending the US mission.

However, Mr Kony has not been found and in the US and Ugandan armies ended their efforts to track him down. They argued that his ability to cause trouble had been degraded and he was no longer a threat.