Joseph Kony is not famous yet, but an American film-maker has set out to change that with a new documentary titled KONY 2012 that has been viewed more than four million times in the last two days on the internet.
The ruthless leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, Africa, Kony and his killers have abducted more than 30,000 children from their families, forcing young boys to murder their parents and become child soldiers and the girls to work as sex slaves.
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Poster campaign .... cities all over the world will be plastered on April 20.
It's been happening for almost 30 years. On Wednesday March 7, the video below, produced by the humanitarian group Invisible Children, began being passed around Australian internet users.
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.
"The dream would be for Kony to be captured, not killed, and brought to the International Criminal Court to face trial, says Russell, not surprising considering Kony is the most wanted man in the world according to the ICC.
"The world would know about his crimes and they would watch the trial play out on an international level, seeing a man face justice who got away with abducting children, raping little girls, and mutilating people's faces for 26 years," says Russell.
And this is the year to make it happen.
Thanks to the efforts of Russell and Invisible Children, the US government last year committed 100 military advisor join the Ugandan army to help train and co-ordinate Kony's capture.
"The dream would be for Kony to be captured, not killed, and brought to the International Criminal Court to face trial, says Russell, not surprising considering Kony is the most wanted man in the world according to the ICC.
"The world would know about his crimes and they would watch the trial play out on an international level, seeing a man face justice who got away with abducting children, raping little girls, and mutilating people's faces for 26 years," says Russell.
And this is the year to make it happen.
Thanks to the efforts of Russell and Invisible Children, the US government last year committed 100 military advisor 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.
KONY 2012 may do the trick.
As of Wednesday night, #stopkony was one of the most tweeted topics globally.
Late Wednesday, Channel Seven's Weekend Sunrise program announced it would be departing from its usual format this Sunday for a special on #Kony2012, also asking its viewers to mass in Martin Place, Sydney, from 8:30am.
Invisible Children's organisers have targetted April 20 as a day of global action, where supporters will paper their cities with "hundreds of thousands of posters demanding justice". More than 50,000 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?
The KONY 2012 video is below.
KONY 2012 may do the trick.
As of Wednesday night, #stopkony was one of the most tweeted topics globally.
Late Wednesday, Channel Seven's Weekend Sunrise program announced it would be departing from its usual format this Sunday for a special on #Kony2012, also asking its viewers to mass in Martin Place, Sydney, from 8:30am.
Invisible Children's organisers have targetted April 20 as a day of global action, where supporters will paper their cities with "hundreds of thousands of posters demanding justice". More than 50,000 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?
The KONY 2012 video is below.
HOW TO HELP:
Donate to Invisible Children: causes.com/donatekony2012 Purchase KONY 2012 products: invisiblechildrenstore.myshopify.com/ Sign the Pledge: causes.com/konypledge
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