Anti-Kony Group to Air New Video Today

New film will aim to answer Invisible Children's critics
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2012 3:00 AM CDT
Get Ready for a New Kony Video
African warlord Joseph Kony answers journalists' questions on a the viral video Kony 2012.   (Getty Images)

The guys behind the Kony 2012 viral video are going to do what they do best to answer critics: unleash a video. Invisible Children's video exposing the evils of Joseph Kony has grabbed more than 72 million views, and triggered major buzz about how to put an end to the African warlord's activities. But critics are raising questions about the charity's evangelical roots, the fact that only a fraction of its donations goes to its subjects, a troubling photo of founders posing with guns, and concerns that the group supports the Ugandan army and military intervention. So founders picked up a camera again and plan to release a 10-minute video today that "clicks through some of the questions," said the charity's chief executive Ben Keesey.

"There's nothing to hide. Invisible Children has been transparent since 2004, when we started," Keesey tells CNN. "That's our intention, and we want to show that this campaign is part of a strategy that's comprehensive." Charity founder and videographer Jason Russell said he has been surprised by the criticism. "I didn't know there was that much tension," he said. "We're an unorthodox organization," Russell explained in an earlier interview. "We work outside of the traditional box of what you think about charity." (More Ben Keesey stories.)

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