If you are not one of the millions of people that have watched the video, “Kony 2012,” chances are you’ve at least heard about it. The 30-minute video about Ugandan rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has created huge buzz in the social media sphere, dominating Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.
Visible Measures, a leading Internet measurement firm, reported today that the Kony 2012 campaign has garnered well over 100 million views in just 6 days, making it the most viral video in history. Coming in #2 on the list of most viral videos is “Susan Boyle: Britain’s Got Talent” at 100 million views in 9 days and at #3 “Lady Gaga: Bad Romance” in 18 days. Check out the full list of viral videos here.
Recently there has been a lot of backlash surrounding the Kony 2012 campaign. Criticisms center on the funding of the charity that made the video, Invisible Children, as well as the fact that the video oversimplifies many of the issues presented. Setting this debate aside, Kony 2012 is an amazing example of the power of digital activism in the increasingly connected society that we live in.
While we don’t yet know the real impact that the campaign will have on its goal of capturing Joseph Kony by the end of 2012, I think the global popularity of the video will only further fuel calls for digital activism in the future. As the Arab Spring also demonstrated, social media is a powerful tool for promoting change, and governments around the world can no longer afford to ignore the voices of their people.