Cover image: Social media icons. Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
In March 2012, we woke up to our Facebook and Twitter feeds being inundated with posts calling to “Stop Kony”, with their signature fire engine red graphics demanding our attention amid our everyday scrolling. #Kony2012 and #StopKony trended worldwide, drawing attention to Invisible Children, the non-profit organisation behind the campaign, and the cause they were championing.
#KONY2012 trends worldwide shortly after the video is released. Credit: Jon M. Chu/Twitter.
It’s been nearly a decade since the release of the viral video, and Invisible Children’s usage of digital media to create an online sensation has preceded and inspired other movements like the #ASLIceBucketChallenge and #BlackLivesMatter today.
Power to the People
Video: KONY 2012. Invisible Children.
Humanity’s greatest desire is to belong and connect and now, we see each other. We hear each other. We share what we love. And this connection is changing the way the world works.
– Jason Russell, narrating the KONY 2012 video (0:35)
Social media enables the ease of communication and the ability to share information instantaneously across borders, which was harnessed to Invisible Children’s advantage. The issue laid out in the KONY 2012 video — the brutal crimes of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony — was not something most of us had the power to stop on our own. The video, however, gave power to people, by encouraging us to utilise what we had at our fingertips — the ability to share and spread word to our connections.
Within six days, the video was viewed more than 100 million times, propelling Kony’s name into the spotlight and igniting calls around the globe for his arrest. For the everyday social media user, the simple act of tweeting the hashtag and forwarding the video meant we were part of a large, worldwide digital movement calling for change — all of which could now be done without leaving our bedrooms.
Similarly, in 2014, the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge leveraged our digital connectivity by having participants nominate other people to continue the challenge, with a similar principle to the chain mail that used to plague our inboxes (minus the death threats) that ensured a wide audience reach.
Video: Conan Takes The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge | CONAN on TBS. Team Coco.
The Importance of Strategy
Not everything has the capability to go viral. Non-profit organisations looking to get word out on their message must have a targeted strategy to maximise their reach and impact online.
Invisible Children highlighted their strategy in the KONY 2012 video, stating that “If our goal is to get Kony’s name known, the known should join us” (23:37). They identified 32 celebrities and lawmakers (ranging from Oprah to Mark Zuckerberg to former US President George W. Bush) and set up their website to make it easy for users to send pre-written tweets to the targeted crowd, thus increasing the chances of their campaign being noticed and further amplified.
Oprah tweeting about #KONY2012. Credit: Oprah Winfrey/Twitter.
In 2020, #BlackOutTuesday took over our Instagram feeds to shine a spotlight on the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd. However, the social media blackout originally began as #TheShowMustBePaused, which aimed to inspire conversation in the music industry about ways to support the Black community.
Along the way, like the game of telephone, the messaging changed and took on a life of its own. Without a clear strategy to guide the movement, black squares were being posted without the inclusion of any further useful resources or using #BlackLivesMatter and drowning out important information associated with the tag. The end result of #BlackOutTuesday was perhaps not as useful as it could have been.
The usage of #BlackLivesMatter with the black square eclipsed important information usually shared with the hashtag. Credit: KenidraRWoods/Twitter.
Performative Activism
The Kony 2012 campaign was meant to culminate in in-person events worldwide on 20 April. With the success of the video, expectations were undoubtedly high, but by then, the campaign had faced criticism over their finances as well as accusations of white saviour complex. The actual event turnout was disappointing, as Invisible Children had failed to turn their massive online support into action.
Participating in digital activism is often a simple one-click process that makes us feel good, and also allows us to show others that we are advocates for change. However, as easy as digital technology makes it to support a cause, the exhibitionist nature of social media now may motivate performative activism, where more attention is paid to the “show and tell” aspect of our activism, and not so much about the desire to make an actual difference.
This is not only limited to individuals, but also companies who are keen to show their support for social causes online, and consumers are demanding accountability by examining the company’s track record and urging further support to the causes.
The Kony 2012 campaign was one of the first major digital movements to go viral, and the success (and subsequent backlash) faced provides us with key lessons on how to approach digital activism today.
KHRISTY CHOO 
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