WSJ: Kony 2012 and Invisible Children: How Social Media Made Joseph Kony The Web's Most Hated Man

REPORT: By Thursday afternoon it had generated more than 44.7 million views and over 170 related video clips from the time it was uploaded to YouTube on Monday by Invisible Children Inc., a San Diego-based nonprofit, according to online measurement firm Visible Measures Corp.

Twitter users mentioned Kony more than 950,000 times on Thursday, according to social- media analytics firm PeopleBrowsr, with tweets by public figures including Rihanna, Alec Baldwin, Sean Combs, Ryan Seacrest, Bill Gates and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.).

Invisible Children, founded by three filmmakers, turned to Twitter and Facebook to encourage its followers to share the short film, donate to its campaign to raise awareness about Mr. Kony and sign a pledge "to help bring Kony to justice in 2012."

The nonprofit's Invisible Children Protection Plan, according to financial statements, is a five-step strategy that includes building an early-warning radio network "to facilitate twice daily security broadcast and early-warning communications," and deploying search-and-rescue teams.

Ugandan officials, nongovernmental organizations and others have questioned the group's capacity to enact change on the ground, such as enabling family reunifications, as well as the utility of its focus on Mr. Kony.

A spokesman for Uganda's defense and army, Felix Kulayigye, said Mr. Kony is already a spent force. "The world is just realizing the evil in this man, but these are the things we have pointed out countless times in the past," Mr. Kulayigye said. "Good enough, we have decimated his capabilities now."

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http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/03/08/viral-video-puts-spotlight-on-uganda-rebel-kony/?mod=e2tw