Showing posts with label Joseph Kony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph Kony. Show all posts

Saturday, October 7, 2017





The former chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court had a thing for celebrities — once asking activist actress Angelina Jolie to play the role of a “honey trap’’ in a real-life attempt to arrest a notorious African warlord, a published report said Saturday.
The Sunday Times of London said loopy lawman Luis Moreno Ocampo also tried to recruit film stars George Clooney and Sean Penn in his international crusades.
The startling information was leaked by the court to the French Web Site Mediapart and made available to the British newspaper.
Moreno Ocampo approached Jolie about five years ago — and even tried to cast her husband, Brad Pitt, as a co-star — in a stranger-than-fiction plot to take Ugandan Joseph Kony into custody in the Central African Republic, where he was based.
“Forget other celebrities, she is the one,” Moreno Ocampo wrote in an e-mail. “She loves to arrest Kony. She is ready. Probably Brad will go also.”
Moreno Ocampo wanted to embed Jolie, and hopefully Pitt, with US Special Forces close to Kony’s stronghold, according to the report.
Jolie wrote Moreno Ocampo at one point. “Brad is being supportive. Let’s discuss logistics. Much love Xxx.”
Moreno Ocampo claimed Jolie had suggested she could lure Kony to dinner as a ruse to arrest him, the report said.
American troops, he told her, “are eager to get Kony . . . [and] after meeting you, they will do it.”
Moreno Ocampo had his own fixation on Jolie. The prosecutor, who won only one case in his nine-years on the court, was ultimately even less successful with Jolie.
At one point he sent her an e-mail: “Dear Angie, I hope you are well. I miss you.” It went unanswered.
When he heard she was ill, he sent an e-mail to her assistant confessing: “I realize how much I love her.” The assistant replied Jolie had changed her e-mail address.
Moreno Ocampo made still less headway with Clooney and Penn.
He asked Clooney for help flying spy satellites over Libya “to put pressure on Khadafy’s generals.’’
Moreno Ocampo also invited Penn to a New York hotel, and tried to involve the star in a potential investigation into the Palestinian conflict. The ever-flip Penn responded, “While you make the decision on Palestine, I’m embroiled in a decision weather [sic] or not to get a steam in the hotel spa.’’



The name is Jolie, Angelina Jolie.
In a case of the truth being far stranger than even Hollywood fiction can create, the Salt actress once came perilously close to taking part in some real-life espionage on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
A hoard of 40,000 ICC documents leaked to the French investigative website Mediapart reveals that Jolie once offered to act as human bait in a trap to arrest brutal Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.
She “has the idea to invite Kony to dinner and then arrest him,” reads an e-mail sent by former ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, reports The Sunday Times.
“Forget other celebrities, she is the one,” Moreno Ocampo adds in another email. “She loves to arrest Kony. She is ready. Probably Brad [Pitt] will go also.”
According to The Sunday Times, which has seen the Mediapart documents, Moreno Ocampo hoped that Jolie and her now estranged husband would travel to the Central African Republic with a team of US Special Forces.
It was thought that their presence would then draw Kony out of his armored compound and enable the US forces to take him into custody. As head of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Kony has a $5 million bounty on his head and is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. He is currently thought to be hiding in the disputed border area between Sudan and South Sudan.
“Apparently you can be embedded with the special forces that are chasing Kony. Can Brad go with you?” The Sunday Times reports Moreno Ocampo as e-mailing.
Jolie replied, “Brad is being supportive. Let’s discuss logistics. Much love Xxx.”
Moreno Ocampo later added, “It will be great to spend more time with the American troops. They are eager to get Kony, but after meeting you, they will do it.”
Despite this exchange, The Sunday Times reports that the incredible plan never came to fruition. The cache of e-mails also suggests that Moreno Ocampo developed something of a fixation with celebrities during his time as Chief Prosecutor at the ICC, which has a budget of $270 million to investigate and prosecute cases of genocide and war crimes. (Ocampo finished his term with the ICC in 2012.)
Neither the ICC nor Jolie’s reps responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
The Argentine lawyer is currently at the center of a row over his connections to Libyan businessman Hassan Tatanaki, who was closely tied to the brutal regime of former dictator Col. Muammer Gaddafi. In a statement to the Financial Times, however, Moreno Ocampo stated that he is completely innocent of breaking any rules regarding his work with Hassan Tatanaki, and that the Mediapart leak is part of a “targeted cyber attack” to stop him investigating international terrorism.
“Someone is attempting to blackmail me using illegally obtained information,” he added.
Working as a Special Rapporteur for the UNHCR, Jolie has a long-standing interest in global human rights cases. In May 2009, she also visited an ICC courtroom in the Hague, Netherlands to watch Moreno Ocampo prosecute Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, calling it “a landmark trial for children.”
However, their contact waned in recent years. The Sunday Times reports that despite Moreno Ocampo’s hopes that Jolie would get involved in a charity education project, an email that simply read, “Dear Angie, I hope you are well. I miss you,” received no response.
Another attempt at communication with the actress’ assistant was met with a reply that Jolie had changed her personal email address.




 It was hoped that Jolie could be embedded with forces close to Kony, left

The actress Angelina Jolie offered to act as a honeytrap to capture one of Africa’s most notorious war criminals, according to documents leaked from within the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The offer was made during discussions with Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC chief prosecutor at the time, who wanted to deploy the Hollywood star in the Central African Republic to help hunt down the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. In one leaked email sent by Moreno Ocampo, he claims that Jolie “has the idea to invite Kony to dinner and then arrest him”.
Moreno Ocampo was hoping to embed Jolie, and possibly her husband, Brad Pitt, with US special forces troops close to the warlord’s stronghold, where hundreds of children had been abducted.
“Forget other celebrities, she is the one,” Moreno Ocampo wrote in another email. “She loves to arrest Kony. She is ready. Probably Brad will go also.”
The disclosures come from a cache of 40,000 documents obtained by the French investigative website Mediapart and seen by The Sunday Times and members of the European Investigative Collaborations.
Last week this newspaper revealed that Moreno Ocampo passed sensitive information to a possible war crimes suspect who was secretly paying him for advice. The court has now launched an investigation into two members of staff.

The ICC in the Hague, Holland, has a budget of £130m a year to investigate and prosecute the world’s most heinous criminals who commit genocide and war crimes. However, the leaked documents show how Moreno Ocampo, an Argentinian lawyer, had become bedazzled by celebrities while he held the top job in the prosecutor’s office at the court between 2003 and 2012.
Moreno Ocampo was especially keen to rub shoulders with Jolie. He even sought her advice on how he should tell the world the results of his sensitive three-year inquiry into whether the court had the jurisdiction to investigate war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
Jolie, 42, a campaigner for international humanitarian causes, had supported the work of the court for a number of years. In 2009 she had attended the trial of Thomas Lubanga, the Congolese warlord whose conviction for co-opting child soldiers was Moreno Ocampo’s only successful prosecution during his nine years as chief prosecutor.
The following year Moreno wrote a flattering email to Jolie inviting the actress to become his adviser. “I see a role for her helping us to understand and build bridges with the humanitarian campus and with citizens concerned from all over the world,” he wrote to her assistant.
The actress does not appear to have accepted Moreno Ocampo’s offer. However, it did not stop the prosecutor from love-bombing her with emails.
In 2011 Jolie was promoting a film about the Bosnian War called In the Land of Blood and Honey, which she had written and directed. She asked the prosecutor for his view on the film. Disregarding mixed reviews, Moreno Ocampo told Jolie in an email that it was comparable to Shakespeare with a plot “so strong I am still recovering”.
A few days later he felt moved to contact Jolie again. “I am in LA and I watched the movie again (4th time) . . . you are a genius. You did exactly what you said: a love story showing the war horrors. xx Luis.”
Jolie was delighted: “Louis [sic], I wish you could see the smile on my face. You represent with your work all that I value. I am so happy that the film speaks to you.”

In 2012 the prosecutor began devising a new role for Jolie: helping him to bring Joseph Kony to trial. The warlord had been indicted by the ICC in 2005 for allegedly committing war crimes in northern Uganda while leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. His alleged crimes included murder, rape, enslavement and enforced conscription of children.
Kony’s notoriety surged in early 2012 when a 30-minute video about his crimes by the pressure group Invisible Children went viral, receiving more than 100m views in less than a week.
Moreno Ocampo talked to Invisible Children about taking Jolie out to the Central African Republic, where Kony was believed to be. He wrote to the actress: “Apparently you can be embedded with the special forces that are chasing Kony. Can Brad go with you?”
Jolie replied: “Brad is being supportive. Let’s discuss logistics. Much love Xxx.”
Moreno Ocampo described how Jolie had suggested she could lure Kony to dinner as a trap to arrest him: “It will be great to spend more time with the American troops,” he wrote to Jolie. “They are eager to get Kony, but after meeting you, they will do it.”
There are no further details in the documents about the dinner and the proposed trip does not appear to have gone ahead.


Moreno Ocampo: ‘dazzled by stars’AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Moreno Ocampo again emailed Jolie the following month. He was about to announce that he had decided the court could not investigate war crimes in the Palestinian territories, he told Jolie.
“I need your advice on how to present difficult issues in a proper way,” he wrote. “. . . The issue is how to present it to the normal people . . . so if you have ideas just let me know.
“Just in case, I am attaching the decision I will take. It is confidential. Please don’t share it before Tuesday.”
Jolie replied: “I suggest you read your statement but consider not opening the floor to questions.”
It was one of Moreno Ocampo’s last acts as chief prosecutor. He had hoped Jolie would become involved in a charity education project with him but her interest in communicating with him was waning. A plaintive email saying “Dear Angie, I hope you are well. I miss you” went unanswered.
When he read a story in a newspaper claiming the star was ill, he sent an email to her assistant saying: “I realise how much I love her.”
The assistant replied brusquely. Jolie had changed her private email address.
Last week Moreno Ocampo claimed he had been “the focus of a cyber-attack” and “a criminal investigation is in process”. He added that “selective and out of context information” had been leaked by parties opposed to his work, which had led to “false and misleading reporting”. Jolie did not respond to questions.

Joseph Kony African Warlord
Age 56
Born Village close to Gulu in northern Uganda
Education Born to Christian parents, he was an altar boy until he dropped out of school aged 15
Career Leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, who is alleged to have committed numerous crimes across northern Uganda, including murder, rape and the enforced conscription of children
Spouses Reputed to have at least 60 wives, as he takes his pick of the girls he captures
Wanted by the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2005. Still at large, despite being hunted by international forces for years



Angelina Jolie Hollywood warrior
Age 42
Born Los Angeles, California
Education Joined a New York acting school in early teens before attending Beverly Hills High School Career Academy award-winning actress who rose to fame playing the adventurer Lara Croft. Now involved in humanitarian work promoting women’s rights and international justice
Spouses Three marriages to three actors. Split with her most recent husband, Brad Pitt, last year
Wanted by movie producers, directors and paparazzi. She is one of the world’s most famous and highly paid actresses

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Saturday, April 21, 2012

Checking on Kony2012


Seeing Kony 2012 graffiti and flyers everywhere today-- this one on Park Ave. anyone know what's happening?



Apr 20, 2012

'Kony 2012' campaign's 'Cover the Night' takes to streets


By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Activists with Invisible Children, the organization behind the Kony 2012 videos, are gathering around the USA and elsewhere for an event tonight that's intended to further publicize the Ugandan warlord who abducts children to be his soldiers and to seek international action.
The big question: Will it deliver big numbers or fizzle?
Here's how the group explains "Cover the Night":
Today, April 20, 2012, we are serving our neighbors and promoting justice for Joseph Kony in our own communities. We are creative, we are many, and we are proving that the future of international justice depends on our mutual respect and collaboration. After a week of global advocacy, we are showing the world that our liberty is bound together.
Join us as we share the night and track what's being done.
The San Diego-based group says in a news release, "Thousands of people worldwide have pledged to 1. Engage global leaders 2. Serve their local communities 3. Hit the streets."
CAPTION
By AP
Street actions -- which include putting up "wanted" posters of Kony -- are planned in many cities worldwide, the group says, noting Washington, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin.Ahead of tonight's action, supporters were encouraged to do three hours of volunteer community service work.
The human connection extends around the world, but it starts across the street. So we're kicking the night off by serving in our own communities and earning the right to be heard globally by acting locally.
Some suggestions included "park pick-up," "free car wash" and "act of kindness."
Here's what's envisioned for "Hit the streets":
When the sun goes down, we'll go into our communities and promote justice for Joseph Kony. You have between now and April 20th to plan something epic. Vandalism is lazy and hurts the cause, so your challenge is to keep it legal and go as big as you can.
Under "ideas to get started," IC lists "making a Kony 2012 stencil," "chalk stencil," "clean graffiti" and "spray-paint T-shirt."
USA TODAY's Oren Dorell filed this report on the Washington event:
Organizers prepared for people to arrive for a Kony 2012 event at the Anacostia River front this afternoon.
They set out posters, cases of of bottled water and brochures at a converted boat house owned by the D.C. headquarters of Earth Conservation Corps. The group recruits young people from local neighborhoods and public housing to clean the river.
Jacob Acaye, a 22-year-old Ugandan who stars in the Kony 2012 film by Invisible Children co-founder Jason Russell, says the event is meant to bring attention to Invisible Children's cause.
"We want everything right everywhere," Acaye sayid. "No matter where you are, you should want things right near you. You should care."
Russell's film caused controversy because it urged young people to contribute or buy merchandise to publicize the atrocities of Joseph Kony. Kony leads the Lord's Resistance Army, which Human Rights Watch says has waged a campaign of terror in central Africa using children as soldiers and sex slaves. Critics of Invisible Children, however, say the issue is already being addressed. President Obama last year sent 100 combat equipped soldiers to Africa to help hunt Kony, now believed to be in the Congo and Central Africa Republic.
Acaye says where Kony and the LRA is at the moment is irrelevant.
"The fact that they continue abducting people, we want it stopped no matter where it is," he said.
He writes in a follow-up, "25 people, some wearing red Kony 2012 T shirts, hooted and clapped as a banner unfurled."
Invisible Children has been accused of "dangerously oversimplifying a complex geopolitical situation and calls for a militaristic response," USA TODAY's William M. Welch noted earlier this week. Just after the charity's first video went viral, one of the charity's founders, Jason Russell, suffered a public psychotic breakdown and was hospitalized.
STORY:  Invisible Children preps next act, amid 'raves and ridicule'
Some critics are dismissing "Cover the Night" as a stunt, saying Invisible Children is further harming Africans victimized by Kony, the the London-based Guardian reports.
"This Invisible Children campaign hurts. It's offensive," says Victor Ochen, founder and director of the African Youth Initiative Network (Ayinet) that works to rehabilitate victims of violence perpetrated by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). "The people who have suffered at the hands of Kony don't want to promote him or make him famous. They want to rebuild their lives."
The Guardian has put together a chart of facts and figures for Kony 2012.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Media on Kony Sensation

Jon Stewart on Kony: Media Annoyed It Took a Video to Make People Listen (Video)

Published: March 13, 2012 @ 7:31 am
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By Tim Molloy
Jon Stewart thinks traditional reporters are a little annoyed that it took a viral video to make people pay attention to the atrocities of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony.
Stewart first took note of the video sensation that has been tweeted by celebrities, endorsed by President Obama, and viewed millions of times.
Also read: Kony 2012: New Invisible Children Video Slams Critics
"I wouldnt be surprised if Disney saw those numbers and did a quick John Carter re-edit," Stewart said on Monday's "Daily Show."
But he said traditional reporters from CNN's Anderson Cooper to ABC's Jake Tapper seemed perplexed that it took a viral video to make people pay attention to a story they've covered for years. He ran a montage in which they even seemed a tad annoyed.
Stewart didn't blame viewer apathy. Rather, he said, viewers have tuned out traditional news.
"It's because we stopped listening to the news media around the same time you went Princess Leia on your election coverage," he said, cutting to images of hologram-filled election coverage.
Watch the video:


 “Entrevistar desde Juanes hasta Angelina Jolie ha sido lo mejor que me ha pasado en la vida”

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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Kony & the Campaign & "slacktivists"

Mar 10, 2012 7:30am

Angelina Jolie Hates Joseph Kony

By Lauren Effron



Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, who serves as Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, thinks Ugandan warload Joseph Kony is a vile person and said she felt inspired by so many young people “rising up” to demand his capture.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t hate Kony,” Jolie told the U.K.’s The Telegraph at the Third Annual Women In The World Summit, an event to mark International Womens’ Day, in New York City Thursday.
“He’s an extraordinarily horrible human being who, you know…his time has come,” she added.
Invisible Children, Inc., a San Diego-based nonprofit, launched a 30-minute documentary and campaign Monday to raise support for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the leader of  the Lord’s Resistance Army, a militia group that terrorized northern Uganda with torture, killings and kidnappings. In the past, he forced thousands of children to fight in his army.
The video, “Kony 2012,” went viral within two days, catapulted by a social media-savvy younger audience, and now has almost 60 million views on YouTube. The film’s wide and rapid international attention baffled diplomats and foreign affairs experts who have been working to raise awareness about the region for years, but “Kony 2012″ has also drawn numerous criticisms surrounding Invisible Children’s agenda.
This isn’t the first time Jolie has been outspokenly angry against Kony.
Jolie sat down for an interview with “Nightline” anchor Cynthia McFadden in March 2010 to promote her film, “Salt,” and talk about her humanitarian efforts.
In “Salt,” Jolie stars as a CIA operative who is on the run from the agency after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Jolie’s character is forced to fend for herself, and to sort out who she can trust  and who is evil.
At the time, Jolie told McFadden that there were a “few bad people,” in real life, that “if I was left, you know, alone in a room with, I’d be tempted” to take down.
“Joseph Kony,” she said. “I hate him.”
Her anger even then towards Kony was a visceral reminder of just how tough the actress can be when she’s fighting for a cause — Since 2001, Jolie has conducted humanitarian field missions in more than 20 countries, launched a foundation to help combat extreme poverty and protect natural resources, and adopted sons Maddox, 10, from Cambodia, and Pax, 8, from Vietnam, as well as daughter Zahara, 6, from Ethiopia.
“When I have to protect something in my life or when I’ve decided there’s something I have to accomplish, I do, I do kind of push to the end and I don’t take ‘no’ very well,” Jolie told McFadden. “If it came down to something I had to do, I would believe in what I’m fighting for and I’m not afraid.”

 

What’s Behind StopKony? Critics Question Video Producer’s Finances


The social-media sensation brought African horrors to 30 million viewers. But the controversial NGO that made the heart-wrenching video has some critics questioning its finances.

SPOILER ALERT: What you are about to read may not be easily summarized in a tweet.

Therein lies the problem with that superviral Kony2012 campaign that launched Monday with the release of a 30-minute documentary juxtaposing a cute blond kid in Southern California with a bunch of terrified ones in Africa; a video that by Thursday had already reached 38 million views; a hashtag of #stopkony that is still trending on Twitter, along with #Uganda and #Africa and a Facebook page with more than 400,000 “likes” and celebrity weigh-ins from Lady Gaga to Justin Bieber.

“Stop Kony” is a simple, powerful slogan, a message bolstered by a beautifully shot, powerful video, along with a logo, social-media campaign, winsome founders, and young people all over the world convinced that if they themselves can’t drop everything and sign up for this cause, they can at least re-tweet it. Even if they have no idea what’s really going on in Uganda.

First, here’s what’s going on in Uganda, according to this post four months ago from Foreign Affairs’s Mareike Schomerus, Tim Allen, and Koen Vlassenroot: during three decades of brutal war, Joseph Kony led the violent central African rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army, comprised largely of kidnapped children, to all sorts of horrifying acts against their own people. Now, the LRA’s ranks are depleted and Kony is on the run. His forces no longer operate in the country, at least not as the LRA, though he remains at the top of the International Criminal Court’s Most Wanted List, indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

So, one of many problems with the heart-rending film so many “slacktivists” are now posting on their Facebook pages with urgent messages to #stopkony is that he’s pretty much stopped, even though he has yet to be brought to justice for many years of war crimes. The video brushes past this fact, after 10 minutes of a self-indulgent backstory about some hipster dude from Southern California named Jason “Radical” Russell, who was shocked—shocked, I tell you—that people in Africa were slaughtering each other; noting, astutely, that “If this happened in America, it would be on the cover of Newsweek.”
Well, obvi. But then the video moves into a call for action, using Russell’s son, “Gavin Danger Russell,” as the way to remind other white people that it could just as easily be their children being kidnapped and mutilated, even though that’s not really true. By the end of 2012, Russell insists, Kony must be stopped, because the video will “expire” at that point.

Which means what, exactly? That’s not so clear. Russell notes—quickly—that “Uganda is relatively safe” now, but insists that “Kony is still out there, and he had to be stopped.” This is urgent, Russell says, because President Obama sent in 100 armed advisers to Northern Uganda last fall, on the pretense that they would help the Ugandan government track Kony down—even though he’s not there anymore. Without major public awareness (and stacks of donated cash) lawmakers could pull the plug on the whole operation, Russell claims—even though no one is threatening to do so now.

And at that, with some gut-wrenching imagery, the glossing over of a few facts, a movement was born on Monday—or reborn, as the case may be. Russell’s nongovernmental organization, Invisible Children, has actually been around for nine years now, and it’s a full-fledged $13 million operation, not a fledgling movement.

 Which may explain why Invisible Children is so determined to keep this cause alive, even as Kony’s cause is all but dead. Russell and his two cofounders earn nearly $90,000 apiece in salary, and of the $13 million they brought in last year, only 32 percent of it made it back to Uganda, according to financial statements posted on its website. The highly regarded watchdog Charity Navigator gives the NGO a ranking of three out of four stars, downgrading it largely because there is no outside, independent board auditing its books—a problem, say critics, because of the flood of hard-to-document cash donations the charity receives.
So as quickly as the Kony2012 movement went viral this week, so have the NGO’s many and loud critics piped up, accusing the founders of exaggerating an outdated cause in order to line their own pockets. “Invisible Children Inc. directors are collecting financial donations and laughing all the way to the bank with your money,” proclaims the website, which is home to a collection of myriad Invisible Children criticisms.

An email inquiry from The Daily Beast on Thursday prompted an auto-reply that explained the NGO has been swamped since the video came out. But Invisible Children has heard enough of these complaints to warrant an official statement on its website. It’s “in the process of interviewing board members,” for one, and even though the LRA left northern Uganda in 2006, it remains active in Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan, writes communications director Noelle Jouglet. “Invisible Children’s mission is to stop Joseph Kony and the LRA wherever they are and help rehabilitate LRA-affected communities,” she said.
So as quickly as the Kony2012 movement went viral this week, so have the NGO’s many and loud critics piped up, accusing the founders of exaggerating an outdated cause in order to line their own pockets. “Invisible Children Inc. directors are collecting financial donations and laughing all the way to the bank with your money,” proclaims the website, which is home to a collection of myriad Invisible Children criticisms.

Why Kony 2012 Went Viral

On Monday the advocacy group Invisible Children launched an affecting video, Kony 2012, to raise awareness about child soldiers in Africa and advance the group's goal of ultimately killing or capturing Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. The response has been staggering: The 30-minute clip has tallied more than 32 million views on YouTube, dominated Facebook news feeds, spawned numerous trending topics on Twitter, and garnering media attention from foreign policy publications to tech blogs. Inevitably it has also spurred a backlash.
But why now? There has been an International Criminal Court warrant out for Kony's arrest since 2005. Invisible Children has released eleven of these films over the years. The ever-growing importance of social media is obviously a factor, but Invisible Children's real innovation was to virtually guilt-trip an influential list of A-List celebrities.
First came an effective product: Invisible Children has a multimillion-dollar marketing budget, which helped to pay for a polished, professional video that combines a jarring, visceral subject with high production values and a flashy soundtrack, including Nine Inch Nails and Mumford and Sons.
But the real pipeline to big numbers was the Kony 2012 website, which features "The Culturemakers," a slick, visual chart of twenty celebrities, including Oprah, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Angelina Jolie, Bill Gates, Bono, and more. "When they speak, the world listens," the website says. And to encourage them to speak, clicking on any of the celebs' photos automatically crafts a tweet directed at the Culturemaker, complete with the Kony 2012 web address and two related hashtags. The interface is easy, it's quick — messaging all twenty celebs would take less than two minutes — and most importantly, it allows anyone to feel like they're making a difference.
Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Oprah, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, and Bono's ONE organization have all written about Kony. They have about 45 million followers combined.
Beneath the celebrities section of the Kony 2012 site is the same setup for policymakers, including George W. Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Mitt Romney, Bill Clinton, and others. While politicians have been slower to respond, they also command less influence on social media, and their follower accounts are dwarfed by Lady Gaga and her ilk.
Reddit was also an early advocate of the video, with a post that shared the video appearing on the influential front page two days ago. The subsequent discussion of the campaign's validity was fervent, and hundreds of posts debating the topic now exist. The Kony meme, serious as it is, has even combined with nerds' favorite bits of Internet humor, giving the story even longer legs.
Then there's the everyday person — your aunt, your high school best friend, your boss — clearly moved by the subject matter,  curious about the buzz, or inspired by the conversation. "I, for one, can't remember the last time so many of my Facebook friends shared the same link," wrote one Mashable writer. The Kony 2012 Facebook group has around 400,000 likes, and dozens and dozens of copycat groups. It's awe-inspiring, regardless of one's opinion of intervention in Africa or non-profits.
After years and years of abuses, the online mobilization of millions doesn't make solutions for Uganda feel any closer, but if awareness — however fleeting — is a goal for Invisible Children, then they're inarguably having a hell of a week.


Kony 2012: Angelina Jolie calls for Ugandan warlord's arrest

Actor, who is also a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations, says Joseph Kony is an 'extraordinarily horrible human being'
Angelina Jolie in 2012
'I don't know anyone who doesn’t hate Joseph Kony' … Angelina Jolie. Photograph: Marc Bryan-Brown/WireImage
Angelina Jolie has joined those calling for the arrest of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, following a controversial viral web video that has now been viewed by more than 70 million people.
The 30-minute film posted on YouTube by the charity Invisible Children calls for the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army militia to be arrested and asks for more intervention by the US government. It has won praise from millions of viewers but also criticism from human rights activists and Ugandan journalists.
At an event to mark International Womens' Day in New York, Jolie said she didn't "know anyone who doesn't hate Kony".
The Oscar-winning actor, who is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, added: "I've been to Uganda and Congo and been to the International criminal court myself … he's the one we all want to see in jail, so I think it's great that more people are talking about it.
"He's an extraordinarily horrible human being who, you know … his time has come and it's lovely to see that young people are raising up as well."
Jolie was targeted by the people behind Kony 2012 as one of 20 "culturemakers" they hoped would call for the warlord's arrest. Her image appears towards the end of the documentary along with other famous figures, such as Bill Gates and Justin Bieber, who Invisible Children hoped viewers might pressure to condemn Kony.
The group raised $5m (£3.2m) in just 48 hours after uploading the film, which makes an explicit call for contributions. What will happen to those funds is unclear: financial statements for Invisible Children show that only 32% of the $8.6m it raised last year went to services in northern Uganda.
It's not the first time Jolie has spoken out against Kony, who is accused of kidnapping and enlisting thousands of children into his militia. She told ABC news anchor Cynthia McFadden in 2010 she would be tempted to "take down" certain people if she were left alone in a room with them. "Joseph Kony. I hate him," she said.

Angelina Jolie Calls for Joseph Kony's Arrest

5:40 PM PST 3/10/2012 by Aaron Couch
Angelina Jolie SAG Awards Red Carpet - P 2012
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Actress said the Ugandan warlord was an “extraordinarily horrible human being."

The filmmakers behind Kony 2012 were apparently preaching to the choir when they targeted Angelina Jolie as one of 20 “culturemakers” they hoped would call for the arrest of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.
Jolie told The Telegraph Thursday that Kony was “extraordinarily horrible human being." The comments were made at the Third Annual Women In The World Summit in New York, reports ABC News.
Jolie’s image appeared near the end of the 30-minute documentary Kony 2012, which went viral earlier this week. Viewers were urged to contact Jolie and public figures ranging from Bill Gates to Justin Bieber, and ask them to call for Kony's arrest.
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After the documentary went viral Tuesday night, Twitter lit up with Kony-related tweets to Jolie and other targeted celebrities. Kony 2012, created by the San Diego non-profit Invisible Children, Inc., has received more than 50 million views since its release, and has garnered both praise for its effective promotion of the cause and criticism of its methods.
After her comments to The Telegraph, Jolie appeared on Extra to praise the number of "young people rising up" to demand Kony’s arrest.
Jolie had previously spoken out against Kony in a March 2010 interview on ABC's Nightline, when she was doing press for her action-thriller Salt. Jolie told anchor Cynthia McFadden she would be tempted “take down” certain terrible people if she were left alone in a room with them.
"Joseph Kony," Jolie said. "I hate him."
The filmmakers likely knew Jolie, an avowed humanitarian, was a strong candidate to join its cause. Others targeted by the group range in their political views and level of human rights involvement.
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An excerpt of an interview with George Clooney, one of the celebrities targeted by Invisible Children, appears in the documentary. In the clip, Clooney calls for human rights abusers to be as famous as he is, so it would be harder for them to hide. Rush Limbaugh, also targeted by Invisible Children, last year questioned the U.S. decision to send 100 military advisers to assist Uganda in capturing Kony. Limbaugh later said he would need to examine the issue further.
Kony, leader of a military group called the Lord's Resistance Army, has carried out a number of documented atrocities in Uganda, including the kidnapping and enlistment of thousands of children into his militia.
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