Things on the Internet, to paraphrase xkcd.com, are more akin to posters in a hallway. They can be put up or they can be taken down by the same hooplehead and inflict the same amount of damage: none. The only difference is that the public sees the Internet as more complicated than a dorm hall bulletin board and, because people confuse “complicated” with “important,” minor things on the Internet become matters of national importance.

For instance, if we could see how many times someone looked at something (liked) or bought something (shared), what would the metrics of the golden arches of McDonald’s or cheese burgers be? What about movie posters and tickets? What about conversations about anything? How does it stack up to a free video on the Internet coupled with a constant written record?

Now, does 55 million people watching a free video at their fingertips and “tweeting” about it equate to a movement, or the public talking about a free video at their fingertips?

I’m not about to marginalize the number of people who have been moved to … “action” by Kony 2012. On the contrary, I salute them. 

Kony 2012 is just a stepping stone in the path of awareness; it has sparked interest in something which people will then, hopefully, seek out more information upon before coming to a reasoned conclusion.

Unfortunately, Kony 2012 is not made by journalists, or reputable investigators. Invisible Children has lied, distorted and abused the truth and facts to make their case more compelling. And far, far too many are not seeking out more information before bemoaning their gut conclusion. 

The Internet has been mismeasured by those outside it who have empowered those already prone to Internet activism and blindly repeating what someone else has said. People who are inclined to yell at a cop during a peaceful rally are also the same who will look no further into a subject, bite deep into the hook and come out spending an unhealthy amount of money just to feel better about themselves.

As with SOPA and PIPA, the pubic has jumped en-mass on the bandwagon of support for something in which the wheels are already turning. PIPA and SOPA were already dead, by congressional standards, the day Wikipedia announced its blackout and Internet-wide support was thrown against the bills. While it is true that the U.S. has sent 100 Marines to Uganda to assist with the hunt for Kony, they were sent in 2011, not after the public’s response to the video. 

The Marines are not all stationed in Uganda but are spread out in advisory roles to the countries listed before as there is no direct support for the government of Uganda, or any of the militaries of neighboring countries, to find and kill Kony on its own because they have, for decades, shown they are willing to commit the same abuses (child soldiers, child sex workers, near genocide) as Kony has and delay the war for personal profit. 

In fact, their abuses, which have been overlooked by Invisible Children, spurred Kony into action. Originally Kony fought against his corrupt government, with wide spread support from the people and international press.

There is no relief effort you can assist with, in person or on Facebook. You can donate to a number of already well-known child-soldier rehabilitation charities which, with the backing of UN Peacekeepers, take child soldiers out of war and try to turn them back into human beings, but that is the extent which you can “assist” with this issue. 

Donations to Invisible Children do not go to these charities.

This is not a 1980s neo-con wet dream movie. You are not going to succeed where hundreds of people in the past have failed. In fact, there is little anyone can do short of actually going to Africa, which will not help anyone. Kony will not disappear in a comic “poof” of smoke if the video gets 3 million more “likes.”

Or, to quote Visible Children, a blog questioning the motives of Invisible Children, “These problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, frankly, aren’t of the nature that can be solved by postering, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture, as hard as that is to swallow.”

The abductions will only stop when the governments are strengthened and villages are safe, not when the militaries are strengthened. An idea which Invisible Children supports, and you support as well when you buy or donate to the not-for-profit.

Stopping the influx of modern weapons will stop Kony and other warlords. Stopping the funds to corrupt government officials which are then used to buy ammo, drugs and supplies for Kony (secretly) or government approved warlords (overtly) will stop Kony and other warlords. Increasing education will stop Kony and other warlords. Invisible Children supports none of the above. 

They support large-scale, direct military action against Kony, which has, time and again, resulted in only more dead children, burned villages and ruined lives.