The filmmaker behind the viral “Kony 2012’’ video believes there is a simple reason for the exploding popularity of the short film depicting the human rights abuses of a Ugandan warlord and his guerrilla army.
“I think it’s because it’s a human story,’’ director Jason Russell told TODAY’s Ann Curry Friday. “We’re all human beings, and for some reason we forgot about our humanity because of politics and because all these things we’re talking about have paralyzed us.’’
“Kony 2012,’’ a 30-minute documentary film that aims to expose the abuses of Ugandan guerrilla Joseph Kony and his murderous Lord’s Resistance Army, has received more than 52 million views on YouTube and more than 14 million on Vimeo since it was posted Monday. The viral video has received support on Twitter from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna and Justin Bieber, who combined have more than 40 million followers. Russell crafted the film for Invisible Children, a San Diego-based activist group.
Invisible Children’s goal is to have Kony tried in the International Criminal Court, where he is wanted for human rights abuses related to his cult-like army, which allegedly has used child soldiers. Kony is being pursued by government soldiers in four different Central African nations, and last year the United States sent Special Forces troops to train Ugandan soldiers in case of a military intervention against Kony. The video advocates everyone putting up posters of Kony worldwide on April 20 to bring more attention to the issue.
“We can all agree we can stop him this year,’’ Russell said. “We’re not going to wait.’’
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