Currently, the most popular video among youth is KONY 2012, a campaign video produced and released by the Invisible Children organization to make Joseph Kony – leader of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group – famous. Kony and his army have abducted children, forcing boys to become child soldiers and girls to work as sex slaves for 26 years. During his thirty year reign, Kony has been responsible for the mutilation and murder of many Ugandans. According to the video, 99 percent of the planet does not know who Kony is despite being the first leader indicted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

The Invisible Children project began when filmmaker Jason Russell and his colleagues made a documentary film of their encounters with several Ugandan children facing risk of abduction and murder from Kony’s cronies. Their campaign to spread awareness of Kony’s atrocities developed into a powerful grassroots movement, largely powered by young people. With each member donating a few dollars, Invisible Children was able to rebuild schools, create jobs and build a radio network to warn villages of imminent rebel attacks. While the U.S. government initially resisted involvement (because it did not concern them politically or financially), Washington policy makers started to pay attention once Invisible Children started gaining support from their colleagues and constituents. As a result, President Obama deployed a small number of U.S. forces to the central African nation to assist Ugandan forces in apprehending Joseph Kony.

To make sure the U.S. forces stay in Uganda and complete their mission, Invisible Children is intensifying their campaign this year as embodied and explained in the film. This entails targeting 20 public figures and 12 policy makers who can spread awareness and wield sufficient influence to keep the spotlight on Kony and Uganda. They will distribute yard stickers, bracelets, posters, and the action kit. They hope this movie will circulate among the virtual community to enlighten and empower individuals to stand up for what is right. One of the most powerful ideas is that social media, particularly Facebook and YouTube, links 750 million people in constant dialogue, transcending national boundaries. People can come together and change history.

But we don’t want to give away the entire film; we think its worth checking out for a couple reasons. First, its great example of using viral videos for activism.  Two, this is what youth are watching on Youtube right now. The Kony 2012 video has already accumulated over 80 Million views. It was first viewed on a mobile device, and subsequently shared through Facebook and Twitter.

If this campaign succeeds, it could set a precedent for holding human rights violators accountable. Indeed, media can be used to educate and unite people like never before. and exert enough pressure on the policy makers to create social change not just in our backyard but also on behalf of nations that may lack the means to do so themselves.

In response to this very well-produced film, other people have questioned the validity of its claims. In this counterpoint video, a young woman of Ugandan heritage suggests that the Kony situation is being blown out of proportion — she purports the problem surrounding Kony is not even relevant anymore and certainly less serious than the repression going on Syria at the moment. Drawing upon familial anecdotes and news articles, she mentions the possibility that Kony and his troops fled northern Uganda six years ago and are in neighboring countries. In this contest, she questions the value of deploying U.S. soldiers in Uganda. She also encourages viewers to examine if and how Invisible Children are benefiting from this campaign. According to her research, Invisible Children takes in 13 million dollars a year and only 31% of the revenues goes to the cause. Whether one agrees or not, she brings up an excellent point: that people should educate themselves on the subject matter and the organization before offering support to any campaign. It’s important to consider whether these issues are still relevant and significant, and how exactly contributions will forward the cause. This digital op-ed has already accumulated 3,046,403 views.

And she is not the only video blogger asking people to reevaluate their support for Kony 2012. There are other v-loggers encouraging viewers to educate themselves on the situation in Uganda before donating or actively campaigning for the cause. Refusing to take any sides, this young man proposes that people educate themselves before committing to any sort of campaign. People in Uganda have also protested against this video for similar reasons, stating that Kony’s reign of terror is no longer relevant to their current political and social climate, and the footage in their video may be outdated.

Along similar lines, an Colorlines article  speaks to Kony 2012′s portrayal of Africans as victims whose only hope lay in the actions — and wallets — of white saviors.