Kony 2012

Perhaps you've seen it popping up on your Facebook or Twitter feeds - "Kony 2012." The documentary has quickly become an Internet sensation. Less than two days after its initial release, the video has garnered almost 20 Million views on Youtube. So, who is Kony, and why should you care?

Kony is Joseph Kony, a warlord who's been leading a rebel army fighting the Ugandan government for decades. His Lord's Resistance Army (or LRA) is accused of brutal war crimes and kidnapping thousands of children in order to use them as soldiers, forced laborers and sex slaves. Despite this, the LRA still bills itself as a Christian force, with Kony believing he is a voice for spirits that possess his body to communicate their demands to the LRA's followers.

Thanks in large part to the Invisible Children movement, President Obama has deployed American troops to Uganda in hopes of catching the madman and preventing any further atrocities from occurring. The troops, fewer than 100 in all, arrived last fall and are focused on training and providing other support to the armed forces of Uganda and additional bordering countries.

Invisible Children is an international campaign to solve the Kony problem and help its victims. To that end, Invisible Children produced "Kony 2012," a 30-minute film and campaign it says "aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice."

Part of the campaign is a series of rallies planned in cities across the globe on April 20. On this day, supporters of the anti-Kony movement plan to gather and demonstrate public support for the campaign by decorating their cities with posters and signs all proclaiming "Kony 2012." The goal is to make it nearly impossible for citizens not to know who Joseph Kony is. This would therefore pressure their respective governments into continuing aid to the Ugandan military because the people demand it.

Another portion of the campaign hinges on encouraging 20 cultural superstars and 12 policy makers, including the likes of Angelina Jolie and Tim Tebow, to take a stand.

"I'd like indicted war criminals to share the same celebrity as me," said George Clooney in the film. "That seems fair."

However, anyone can get involved by taking the following steps:

1.) Sign the online pledge.

2.) Get the advocacy kit.

3.) Donate to the cause.

4.) Share the movie with others.

The video is set to expire December 31 of this year, with the hopes that Kony will be captured by the end of 2012. If not, the window of opportunity to bring him to justice may have closed for good.