Invisible Children’s Scam?
Justin Huft | Mar 13, 2012 | Comments 43
I was told by at least a dozen people to “make sure that Kony gets in the paper.” OK. Here it is.
First off, get your facts straight, please.
Invisible Children is not the most angelic organization in the world. In fact, they are one of the most controversial activist non-profits operating in Africa today. They have routinely been accused of mishandling funds and misleading donors. In fact, some organizations that track non-profits have given them the lowest rating of any aid-giving non-profit in all of Africa.
According to Invisible Children’s own public financial sheets, less than 1/3 of their donations were even spent in ways to help children in Africa. Meanwhile, the three founders are making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Things like this, mixed with their refusal to cooperate with the Better Business Bureau, or have outside agencies audit their largely cash donation have led to a lower transparency rating on reputable websites like charitynavigator.org. Besides the borderline-fraudulent finances of Invisible Children, their solution (or lack of) to the “Kony problem” have be less than acceptable.
They have yet to give any real answers as to how they intend to “stop Kony.” The only thing that they have managed to do is create an emotionally manipulative video to deceive students into donating money. Their only claim is that by liking and sharing this video, and buying their merchandise of course, you can help stop this madman. I’m sorry, but the thought that some kid sitting on his bed in Orange County is having any impact in stopping Kony isn’t just deceitful, it’s hubris and reminiscent of some White Man’s Burden story. This isn’t the first time Invisible Children have played on the White Man’s Burden shtick. One of their recent campaigns was the mock abduction of yourself, to help abducted children.
I’m not downplaying the incredibly important role as a catalyst for social change any one person can be. You, as a college student, have tremendous power to make change in the world. Buying a bracelet from Invisible Children is not doing anything though. Especially when it’s from an organization who can’t tell you what they are going to do with your money other than give it to militants.
Yes, Invisible Children supports direct military intervention. After failed wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, even harping back to President Clinton initiating aid to Congo that resulted in, according to the Human Security Report Project, 5.4 million lives lost, I would think that we should know by now that military intervention in other countries is not a good idea. There is a Ugandan saying that goes, “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” How à propos.
To make things worse, Invisible Children isn’t supporting just any military. They are choosing to support one of the most corrupt militaries in the world. This military oppresses any freedom of press, religion, homosexuality (which should make all the left-leaning college students cringe), and routinely torture citizens using the infamous “kandoy” technique (it involves binding hands and feet behind the back, severely beating and attaching electrodes to genitals). The Ugandan military has violated human rights through the means of rape, torture and genocide (like that of the Acholi people) just like the man Invisible Children is trying to stop. And don’t forget the fact that Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is mostly composed of child soldiers. The Ugandan military’s plan to eliminate the threat of the LRA is not to liberate the children, but to kill everyone in the army. So, basically, Invisible Children is directly supporting a group that rapes citizens and murders children. If that comes off sounding a bit extreme, read the last paragraph again and tell me if it was anything but true.
Invisible Children countered on their website by saying that they also support the United States sending advisers to Uganda. I just want to point out the fact that, in an eerily similar situation, we sent a handful of “advisers” to then French Indochina. Cue the Vietnam War.
Now, let’s move onto the fact that Kony probably isn’t even alive. He was seen in 2006 (trying to make a peace bargain), and after that, he was last seen starving to death in the Congo. If he IS alive, he’s in Congo.
Why would Invisible Children be supporting a military in Uganda then? After scouring African newspapers, you’ll find that Kony and the LRA haven’t even been active in years. So what is this? A huge PR stunt, basically.
Kony 2012 is just the newest in Invisible Children’s scams to get you to give money to the three founders. Just to clarify, I’m not saying that Joseph Kony is a good guy (I’m not Rush Limbaugh, after all). I think he is a terrible, terrible person. I do, however, think that there are much worse people who are much more active in Africa that deserve the attention.
Kony, however, is a catchy name, and the story makes for a great viral marketing campaign. I think that, while deeply corrupt, Invisible Children is (probably) a good-hearted organization. But that doesn’t mean that they can manipulate the masses so they profit off people’s emotions.
So, I urge you, reader, to get your facts straight … and stop sending me Facebook invites.
Justin Huft is a third-year psychology and social behavior major. He can be reached at jhuft@uci.edu.
Filed Under: Opinion
Unfortunately, everyone, this article does little more than inspire a bunch of doubt without enough verifiable fact behind either point of view to confirm said doubts, whichever direction they may lean in.
The end result is that we have here the equivalent of a drunken tavern debate; emotion, conjecture, lack of patience to prove one’s point. The truth ends up seemingly farther away than it was at the outset.
Thanks for wasting my time while pretending to alert, inform, and enlighten me. And to those of you who defend IC, thanks for making equally thin points.
I’ll save my money. Let’s hope no kids die unnecessarily over it.
Justin, I just found this ridiculous article written by you. My niece is a volunteer who has given her time, love, patience, endurance, and self sacrifice to help save the children of Uganda. Recently, I had the greatest pleasure of meeting one of those children who were stolen from their family in the middle of the night. He managed to escape with the help of Invisible Children’s help, but not before witnessing the killing of his older brother. He is one of Invisible Children’s spokesperson. So, before you trash about an organization who IS reaching out to help these children, maybe you, yourself could do something nice instead of writing negative and derogatory remarks. What have YOU done to help your fellow man? I would guess, absolutely nothing. Thank you to the “other” Justin for helping fight for the safe return of those precious commodities . . . children.
Thought you’d like to know that Invisible Children, the organization itself reports they are not a direct intervention company. Stating that their purpose is solely to provide media to bring awareness to the cause. So it was a heart warming lie that you “met a child that Invisible Children saved”…. because they do nothing more than release propaganda and reports about the “children army”. Don’t waste your time and money on this organization, just do some research and you will see they are indeed just a big wallet for their founders.
well, the books(finance) is pretty much
” enough verifiable fact behind either point of view to confirm said doubts “,
example,
” They have routinely been accused of mishandling funds and misleading donors “,
“According to Invisible Children’s own public financial sheets, less than 1/3 of their donations were even spent in ways to help children “,
anyone who is in financing know these reasons for why.
Pingback: The Invisible Children « joshlaifanpage
you are idiots i have seen what they do and how they help the chlidren in Uganda the only people scaming here is you. you are a critic making a good organization in the bad light and you are wrongly accusing them of something untrue!!
To Justin, From Justin:
As a supporter of Invisible Children for almost seven years, I am well aware of their past and current efforts, as well as well-versed in the LRA conflict. I know that this may immediately cause some to discredit my opinion, but I feel it pertinent to state my case without deception.
I am disappointed that this article is still one of the top hits on google months later, not because the author disagrees with supporting the organization (it’s perfectly fine not to support this, or any other organization) but because it’s self-proclaimed motto “get your facts straight, please,” is inherently contradictory.
It is my hope that at the least this article is revised, if not completely contracted.
First, you note that some organizations that track non-profits give them the lowest rating of any aid-giving non-profit in all of Africa. In the comments section, I see you’ve referenced Charity Navigator and the BBB. Charity navigator had this response, which I believe is worth reading. (http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1359) Notably, “We give the charity 4 out of a possible 4 stars for its Financial Health. It spends upwards of 80% of its budget on its programs and services.” Overall, they had 3 out of 4 stars. Numerous organizations on the site have 1 star ratings (or 2), which would place Invisible Children well above most organizations.
Next, you claim less than a third of their donations are spent in ways to “help children in Africa.” This is an apparent reference to the amount they spend directly on Central/East African programs, which last year was 37%. Perhaps low, in your views, but still > 1/3. In addition, it should be state in the aforementioned way. The rest of Invisible Children’s programs, (advocacy, awareness, etc.) are designed to use film, media, and creativity to end the LRA conflict. This has been openly stated by the organization from day one. Now, you can disagree that this is EFFECTIVE; however, they spend “upwards of 80% on this mission.” They do so because while schools, scholarships, Water/Sanitation, and their other half dozen educational and micro-finance initiatives are a step towards a sustainable future, schools in no way help end a war. This is what separates this organization from the litany of strict “aid” organizations.
Also, quick, what’s better, an organization that spends 90% on the ground (last year let’s say $1 million), or one that spends 20 % (let’s say last year, $2 million). I understand you’d be more inclined with the first choice, (more bang for your buck), but then what if I told you those two were the same? What if the organization, in an attempt to accrue more revenue, spend massive amounts to get more donations. It’s easy to say that they are “inefficient,” but the truth is each organization has different ways of fundraising. Some have sad commercials, others are funded mostly by big business, some pay kids to stand on the street corner and ask strangers to sign up. Invisible Children invests a lot on travel expenses because they send victims of this conflict all over the world to do more than 2,000 speaking engagements, a year, for free. This costs a lot more than lobbying the ultra-rich or putting a few minimum wage workers on a street corner, but it’s their model and they stick to it. It takes an investment to bring in revenue. Their supporters understand this model and are OK with it. In fact, I prefer it.
Invisible Children has stated they choose not to participate in the BBB because their board does not have five independent voting members (same reason for a low “transparency” score, as noted by Charity Navigator). I understand this reflects negatively, and so do they. However, I doubt many people prior to Kony 2012 had ever heard of Charity Navigator or the BBB, let alone knew their reliability/integrity/impartiality.
They are independently audited every year, as noted by the charity and charity navigator’s response. There has never been any incident with their financials.
“They have yet to give any real answers as to how the intend to “stop Kony.” This statement is not correct. Their protection plan, currently in effect in the Congo, CAR, and South Sudan, has resulted in the defection of several dozen mid-level commanders, the encouragement to escape for even more kidnapped individuals, and real-time communication to aid organizations and local defense forces. Further, since Kony 2012 went viral, the U.S. Senate has passed a Resolution (S. Res 402), the House foreign affairs committee has passed (H. Res. 583), both condemning the actions of the LRA. In addition, the CEO was invited to speak at the white house on genocide Prevention (April 23rd, 2012). In June, the United Nations stated to support the A.U. in their efforts to arrest Kony and his top commanders, and on March 24, 2012, the African Union stated they will have 5,000 troops in pursuit of the LRA by the end of the year. After 26 years of power (and without a doubt, his infliction is low when compared to a decade ago), the world has seen more action towards catching him since the Kony 2012 release, than it had in the first 26 years. It appears that their awareness had indeed led to action, which is a large part of the organization’s mission. Even if all this action were “coincidental,” rather than “causation,”
In addition, their protection programs (http://invisiblechildren.com/programs/) are unparalleled in this conflict. Unlike the schools and other aid projects they do (as well as other aid groups), they have implemented several peaceful projects that have made significant strides in ending the conflict.
The white man’s burden accusation is opinion, to which I cannot disprove, but it is worth noting that their staff in central/east Africa is comprised of over 90% natives, with only a handful of western staff members, reflecting their dedication to build local communities through local leadership. I believe there’s nothing wrong with development work in other countries, with western help, done with a spirit of positivity (IC), so long as there is an equality in the partnership. Of all the NGO’s that come and go, I have yet to find any substantial claims that their ground work is anything less than superb.
You claim their money goes to militants. This is false. Not a single penny has nor will ever go to the U.S. military, the UPDF, the SPLA, or any other organized militant faction.
I am adamantly in support with you in your views of past military interventions. However, this intervention is completely unique. Lumping Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo (countries) in with the LRA conflict serves little justice to the complexities and differences inherent to each. Sending 100 military advisors to assist in a mission to arrest a rebel madman is vastly different from massive invasions, toppling regimes, the bombing of civilians, etc. (Yes, I know even this summary falls short of a descriptive justice). However, each intervention should be thoroughly investigated and distinguished, as opposed to merely lumping everything as “bad.”
I’ll first address your noted “summary” of the UPDF. There is little doubt they have committed heinous crimes against humanity, and have been grossly negligent in their human rights department. I do not disagree. I don’t condone any of these short-comings nor do I wish to demean them, just like Invisible Children. However, there is no military in the world that has not had repeated human rights violations. It’s easy to scapegoat an entire entity for the actions of a few. By the same logic, we would denounce any religion that has ever caused injustice (all of them), any school with a bad teacher (all of them), etc. etc. in the LRA, every voluntary commander promotes murder, rape, sexual slavery, mutilation, kidnapping, robbery, etc., and does so on extremely young children, women, and men. The UPDF does not (enlistment age is now 18), and they have made notable strides in their human rights department.
To put it simply, like it or not, the UPDF is Uganda’s official military. The LRA is a rebel group. IC applauds any group’s peaceful arrest of Kony and his top commanders. If tonight I went to bed knowing the UPDF and LRA exist, and tomorrow found out one arrested the other, I would applaud their ACTIONS in this specific event, not overall track record. Just like I would applaud the U.S. military advisors for their assistance, despite the U.S. militaries track record, the U.N., A.U., etc.
Most of the violations from the UPDF against the Acholi people came from the displacement camps they forced individuals into earlier in the decade. These camps are no longer in use. It was done “for their own protection,” which is likely more sinister than being incredibly naïve. However, it’s in the past. Is it ok? No. But the U.S. forced Japanese Americans into camps during world war two, and hold prisoners without rights at Guantanamo now. Is it ok? No. But we can protest these actions while supporting others (aka support the UPDF to arrest LRA members)
Once again, Invisible children gives no money to the UPDF or U.S. government. All they are saying is, “hey if you guys arrest Kony, a man who has kidnapped over 30,000, displaced millions, held several dozen young girls as sex slaves, mutilated thousands, burnt schools, homes, villages, etc, then IC will say, ‘oh hey good job with that. We thought you could do it and you did. Now there are less bad guys in the world.’”
It’s hard to imagine what this equivalent would be like here in America (California, lets say). However, if a man abducted thousands of people, mostly women and children, and held them hostage at a bank lets say, and burnt down entire towns, and raped little girls repeatedly for years, and cut off peoples lips and limbs, we wouldn’t say, “oh hey intervention isn’t the answer. Especially since he’s surrounded by kids.” This is unfortunate, but he can just stay in the bank for another 26 years for all I care, because under no circumstances can intervention do any good. It never has and it never will.
This is not at all like the Vietnam war. Vietnam was a civil war. Kony has a small group of rebel fighters. I will eat my words if we send tens of thousands of soldiers of the next decade. Until then, I will completely disagree it is in any way relavent. It’s like comparing a little league baseball game to the super bowl, because they’re both sports. Vietnam war is certainly not eerily similar to the LRA conflict.
(right, I get it, we sent a couple advisors then, we sent some now. Do you really believe this is going to cascade into a decade long conflict with 7 figures worth of casualties? Really? The political atmosphere of Vietnam closely resembles the underlying strings of this conflict?)
Kony is most likely alive. Human Rights Watch, Enough, Resolve, and other notable organizations have noted this. So has this girl, who was formerly abducted by the group http://vimeo.com/40535850 (and former “wife” of Kony). Even if he isn’t, the rest of his commanders are. If it appeases you, I’ll refer to it as LRA 2012 from now on.
Haven’t been active in years? LRAcrisistracker.com. Yes, the number of murders/rapes/abductions is nowhere near where it was. I only find causes to be worthy if a TON of people are getting raped and murdered. A couple here and there is of no interest to me. Actually, as the video notes, the founders promised to “do everything they can to stop him.” But I guess it would be better for them to go back to Jacob, and the other kids they met and say, hey that guy that kidnapped and devastated so many towns and lives is out of the country and only doing it occasionally now, so we’ll consider that just as good.
Just like here in America, we only arrest the young and active kidnappers and murderers, and NOT the ones that have moved away and don’t really do it much anymore.
In the end, it’s okay not to like or support the organization, but I won’t stand by misinformation to help people make their own decisions. In addition, I leave you with this- let’s say you are right. Now, you have prevented people from buying action kits, and inherently done your part in “stopping a scam.” However, let’s say that you’re wrong, that their ground programs are solid, their protection plan is saving lives, and that their activism and awareness are at most “offensive.” Now, you have actively worked against an organization saving lives. Your article itself offered no true alternatives to helping end the conflict, and at most listed a few general aid organizations, none of which have any civilian protection ground programs, and are therefore not viable alternatives. In addition, I have a sneaking suspicion that you have not thoroughly scoured those organizations in the way that Invisible Children received. If so, we would all be surprised to find that nearly all organizations fall short of our ideal goals or some way or another.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I have friends personally involved in this organization and I know the direct impact it has had on so many lives. I have done much research on IC and it honestly breaks my heart that people are trying to stop something that is actually making a difference. I am disappointed in everyone who are somehow convinced that the solitary means of aiding other countries is to build schools/homes, bring water or food, and clothes/supplies, or even medicine. IC is about awareness and getting the WORLD involved to help stop the deaths of thousands. I am excited to see what will happen this weekend, but nervous as how so many people are spreading false, uneducated rumors about this movement and organization. Are they asking for money to help? Of course, that is how, as you mentioned, they can do tours and spread the word about this cause. But that’s not the only way they ask for partnership, which is unique when compared to many other charities. They are asking for the “millennium” generation to use their primary means of communication – the internet/social media – to bring the truth out of this evil that is happening and get world leaders involved to stop this man before hundreds or thousands more die.
Thank you, again, for bringing the actual facts to light.
Thank you Justin for your hard work. My niece has been involved with Invisible Children for over 3 years now. It has given her inner peace to be a part of this amazing organization. To Justin Huft, you’re ignorant.
Millions on radiotowers… Too warn of kony… maybe in 1950. Now a 60 dollar set of radios from the hardware store can do that. Also, apparently kony has been out of uganda for 4 or 5 years. But the oil isn’t gone…. Coincidence? Maybe they are still looking for those elusive weapons of mass destruction. Wake up.
Phil- The radio’s you can buy from hardware stores still require towers to amplify their signal. If not, the greatest range you would get out of them is, at most a few hundred feet. This conflict takes place in an area the size of California. Building radio towers is a massive effort, considering the fact the materials need to be imported, roads are few and often difficult to travel, energy supplies are scarce, and skilled laborers are not always readily available.
In fact, technology is not prominent in this isolated region of the world, and so yes, radio towers actually are a viable form of protection.
Hear, hear. These white-guilt riddled fools in this post are an embarrassment.
Since you urge us to get the facts straight I would like to know how you know Rush Limbaugh likes Kony? I know you thought you were being clever, but facts are facts and even if they are about people you don’t like, stick to them!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/limbaugh-defended-joseph-kony_n_1332477.html
Try Google before you post anything again.
You’re a stupid bitch.
Ok wait, is that really what you think millions of dollars goes toward? Radio towers? I have been working with a real estate acquisition firm that deals specifically with towers and I can promise you they are nothing more than tripods….come on radio towers? This isn’t 1950…if a village has access to radio waves, well then so do the militants….those towers would be just as helpful to military combatants as they would be to villagers…could people please stop spreading propaganda and get educated?
I have to respectfully disagree. Radio towers are much more than tripods. In fact, they are radio towers. Amplifying a radio signal in a remote region is no easy task. What may take x dollars here to implement more than likely takes xy dollars in Central Africa to implement. Not everyone is privileged enough to go down to their local real estate acquisition firm and buy a tripod. In fact, product acquisition, shipping, implementation, and maintenance take quite a bit of money.
Further, there is not doubt this could allow the LRA to access the radio waves. However, while this at times could be advantageous in their coordinated retreats, it could also give away their location, or allow pursuing forces to gain knowledge of their plans. It is a double-edged sword, but in my belief, the benefit side is much sharper.
In addition, many of these villages now with radio access were previously unable to report attacks. So, medical help and resistance support simply would have no way of coming. Aid organizations would not know which villages need immediate help, and so no help would come.
Attacks have been down, and I believe it’s a mixture of
1. Increased communication between villages, organizations, local defense forces via use of these towers
2. Pursuit from the UPDF, which IC applauds their efforts to arrest Kony (and not for overall support of the group).
The radio towers encourage the kidnapped to escape by giving airtime to others who have escaped, encourages commanders to defect by playing testimonial from defected commanders, and provide real-time communication between communities for aid and support.
I find it egregiousness to denounce life-saving programs, without any reliable reference to their possible ineptitude or short-comings.
You say “they have yet to give real answers as to how they intend to ‘stop Kony’”. The Invisible Children organization as set up radio towers (with funds that have supposedly been “misused”) in villages across Uganda allowing people to warn others about Kony’s whereabouts. Sure, on the scale of “stopping Kony” this may be a blimp but on the scale of helping save innocent lives this is a huge advance. After all, saving innocent lives is also one of their priorities. Get your facts straight.
poorly reasoned poorly stated.
The invisible children project has recently come to my city to advertise their organization, they claim to be for a non for profit organization, but a large sum of money goes to the founders, including Jason Russell who was recently arrested for public masturbation apparently while on a drug fueled episode, if my money is going to support a mans drug addiction then by every sense of the word i think these funds are being “misused”. So please next time you feel obligated to support an organization don’t provide one flawed theory, this organization is a tax-exempt funnel for its founders, if you wish to help the african people there are plenty of other TRUE non-for-profit organizations: http://www.africaguide.com/charity.htm This website has many of them listed, pick one research it, please be proactive in your support and not follow one organization blindly.
Your statement, “they claim to be for a non for profit organization, but a large sum of money goes to the founders,” implies that IC gives an inordinate amount of money to their founders. Charity navigator notes that the average salary for a CEO in the non-profit sector is $147,000 (2010), and for even the smallest non-profits $95,000 (2010). No member of IC makes over $90,000 a year, placing them below the national average no matter how you look at it. In comparison, these non-profit CEO’s made multi-millions last year (http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/29/news/companies/nonprofit_salary/index.htm).
I saw the list you provided, and to the best of my knowledge (about none for most of them), they are all reputable organizations. However, non-profits are not like sports teams. It isn’t as simple as just “picking one” and bashing another. Most of the organizations don’t do any work in Uganda/DRC/CAR/South Sudan, and therefore aren’t viable alternatives to help those affected by LRA issues. There ARE many organizations that do work in the affected regions, but as I noted in my comments above, they have no protection programs. Invisible Children’s civilian protection program and advocacy to end the conflict is one of a kind, and therefore there are no viable non-profit alternatives.
By all means, I would encourage people to support organizations of their choice, because there are a lot of great causes. However, I find the “THIS cause, not THAT cause,” argument to be detrimental towards development and peace, especially when:
1. The argument is made from a misrepresentation of facts
2. The “alternatives” actually do not provide an alternative to solving the issue at hand.
And there’s no reason you can’t support multiple organizations. But I don’t think there’s any reason to justify slander against a reputable organization by listing other just causes.
Also, Jason was neither on drugs/alcohol, nor was he masturbating. Jason had a mental breakdown, and was hospitalized, not arrested. The organization has continued their mission while he recovers.
Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached with mental illness in this country, and it is not met with the sympathy other dehabilitating illnesses are met with.
EVEN if Jason was on drugs, to say you don’t support them because it supports drug addiction would be analogous to only dining at restaurants where employees are drug tested, so that your tip isn’t used for illicit substances later. However, the police report and hospital report have made it clear that he was not under the influence, and instead was unable to cope with the stresses and pressure this campaign brought.
The organization, in his absence, have continued their programs, which provide thousands of underprivileged individuals with scholarships, schools, classes, micro-finance initiatives, and more. In addition, they have continued efforts to end an armed conflict that has displaced millions, killed tens of thousands, and has resulted in the abduction and sexual slavery of tens of thousands over the past quarter century. Controversial or not, they brought light to a situation that has been ignored for decades.
Dude, I saw the video. The douchebag was masturbating in public. He had a breakdown because his organization is being exposed as a scam.
Here is Invisible Children’s financial statements
http://invisiblechildren.com/financials/
When he speaks of funds being misused, he refers to the majority of them, rather than the entirety. It is quite clearly said that less than one third of the money they obtain is spent on assisting the people of uganda. Having viewed the invisible children organization’s 2011 financial report, i can honestly say this is true, with less than 3 out of the several million dollars they aquired being spent on direct aid. Furthermore, the radio towers you say they established would be of little to no help, since Kony is dead, which is another peice of information which is available in this
article. This man has his facts straight, you are just ignorant to any information which happens to be contrary to your belief that the invisible children organization is a force for good.
You do realize the main mission of the IC is Awareness right? You should look at an organizations mission statement before accusing they are miss-using the money raised/funds. There are other non-profits out there where their mission statement isn’t mostly about awareness but rather programs/assistance on the ground that will more directly help people in Central Africa. Not saying the IC doesn’t also have programs like this, however, if you want to make a more direct impact and have more of your donated money or time go towards non-profits with that mission then donate there.
“Awareness” means LITERALLY jack shit. IT doesn’t do anything to help anyone; it just makes privileged Americans feel better about themselves without actually holding them accountable for anything.
So if a person’s dying from a gunshot on the street and I throw him a cookie, it’s going to stop him from dying? Get your tittes uncrossed dumbass I raised you better than that.
Unfortunately, there are still tons of children scams out there…There is a new iPhone app recently released, called Scam Detector, which exposes like 500 scams. It is worth checking it out, if you have an iPhone. The app is also online – they have a free web version, if interested. Google it, it’s kinda cool, actually.
This is the most accurate and realisting thing I´ve read..!!
Hey, Justin. Saw this article as a top result on Google. Nice job!
I do have some problems with your editorial, however. Mainly the lack of attributions.
I’m not arguing with or against you, as far as the point of this piece is concerned. Attributing sources of information and facts is simply a good way of legitimizing your argument.
There are too many statements in here that I struggled to verify or couldn’t verify at all.
For instance:
“In fact, some organizations that track non-profits have given them the lowest rating of any aid-giving non-profit in all of Africa.”
Are you referring to Charity Navigator? If not, which organizations? More specifically, which organizations have given Invisible Children the lowest rating of any aid-giving non-profits operating in Africa? What organizations have received higher ratings? If your statement here is true, then it would definitely help the argument your making, but it’s a bit vague
“This military oppresses any freedom of press, religion, homosexuality (which should make all the left-leaning college students cringe), and routinely torture citizens using the infamous “kandoy” technique (it involves binding hands and feet behind the back, severely beating and attaching electrodes to genitals).”
I’m sure the above is all true. I found other sources to verify this information. But, it would have been a lot easier for me to do so, and thus more likely to agree with your overall point, if you attributed this statement to another site or a person or something, anything really.
There are also some things you mention that are rhetorically confusing.
For instance:
“Now, let’s move onto the fact that Kony probably isn’t even alive.”
Not only should you be attributing this statement, like the others, but the word “probably” implies a level of uncertainty, so the corresponding information shouldn’t be considered “fact.”
“I just want to point out the fact that, in an eerily similar situation, we sent a handful of ‘advisers’ to then French Indochina. Cue the Vietnam War.”
Why is “advisers” in quotes? Please elaborate on these details. Don’t assume I know what you’re trying to say.
Honestly, I think we have similar sentiments about Invisible Children and the Kony campaign. And it’s because of this that I want people, like you, who share my opinions to argue their points as effectively as possible.
Alex,
I really appreciate you writing in.
To answer some of your questions:
-Yes, I was referring to Charity Navigator. However, the BBB also reported them as overdue on all their 2010 paperwork, which is not something that I found any of the other similar non-profits did. They (IV) have since sent in the necessary documents, and the BBB website has updated their profile.
- Organizations such as Africare, AMREF USA, blood:water mission, Children’s Relief Mission, Oxfam America, Heart for Africa and Water For People all have higher ratings (on Charity Navigator). I understand that not all of these non-profits are soley Africa-based, but I included ones that predominantly do work in Africa to illustrate the point.
- I put advisers in quotes, because they’re soldiers. To call them advisers is to try and downplay the level of military involvement. Also, the term “advisers” in this context was last before Vietnam, so I thought it was ironic that we are using the term again.
Thank you for writing in Alex. Between a strict word limit, and last minute changes, I left a few things out that I wanted to put in. I appreciate you noting what could have been better. I’ll keep it in mind for future articles.
Keep reading.
Cheers
-Justin
great piece!
Instead of advocating U.S. military intervention in oil-rich Uganda, the African Union (or regional trustworthy governments) needs to engage in police work to find Kony.
I don’t think you read the article.
I hope it’s not a scam. here’s what they have to say ..
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html
You have to be more critical, you can’t just assume that anything published by the party in question is fact. Of course IC isn’t going to come out and take the blame. They’ll just deflect attention and deny deny deny until the burden finally comes down on them. Their leader is a lunatic, they accept money from Anti-Gay organizations, and they have been committing fraud for quite some time.
The issue continues. We are not waging war, we are trying to stop it. 16.2% of the funds donated last year went to the minimum needs of living for those working full time for Invisible Children outreach. That includes housing for interns and volunteers who get paid nothing and the “3 founders” who are constantly traveling, spreading the word to Americans and loving the unloved people of Uganda. The rest of the donations went to Uganda for things like building homes for the children who are and will be rescued, and putting the word out about it everywhere else. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/financials.html
We are not supporting war, we are trying to prevent it. We are not butting in someone else’s problem, but we are making it ours because WE, as Americans, have the resources to do something about it. If we can accomplish this task, think of what else we can do as a people united under ONE cause. This is a gateway to reach the WHOLE WORLD. To whom much is given, much is required.
“loving the unloved people of Uganda”. Who says? You? You must feel special. How noble.
Barf.
Signed, unloved African.
Only teens would buy that story
And only teens are stupid enough to pay money for the “actions kits” basically ribbons bracelets t shirts and posters that will just be torn down the next day.
they may be cheap merchandise but thats how you know that they were made from the ugandians trying to get you to help them…did you ever think about them.
LMAO, people in Uganda don’t make any of the crap that IC sells. You’re so easily-led.