“Kony 2012” is the hottest viral video of 2012, and with it came a long list of criticisms involving the charity behind the video – Invisible Children (IC).

In response to this criticism, IC has released a video featuring their CEO, Ben Keesey. It’s an 8 minute video which goes a bit more in-depth into the financial questions being raised against the organization and expands on their mission. If you simply want to watch the video, you may do so below.

Thank you, KONY 2012 Supporters from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Along with the video, the charity has a page completely dedicated to the numerous critiques the organization faces. They have a small infographic which breaks down their spending, and how they allocate funds.

(Click to Enlarge)
(image)

There’s also a personal statement, solidifying Invisible Children’s objective, “We’ve done our utmost to be as inclusive, transparent, and factual as possible. We built this organization with “seeing is believing” in mind, and that’s what why we are a media-based organization. We WANT you to see everything we are doing, because we are proud of it. Though we would no longer consider ourselves naive, we have always sought counsel from those who know much more. We have never claimed a desire to “save Africa,” but, instead, an intent to inspire Western youth to ‘do more than just watch‘”

One of the biggest questions being asked of IC, is why they have denied a BBB review. They explain this on their critique page as well, “Participation in BBB’s program is voluntary– we are choosing to wait until we have expanded our Board of Directors, as some questions hinge on the size of our Board. The current Board is small in size and reflects Invisible Children’s grassroots foundation. We have now reached a juncture of success that has astonished even our greatest supporters. While it is important to retain a presence on the Board that reflects Invisible Children’s early beginnings, we are also working to expand the Board this year.”

While the video and website has done a good job answering questions about transparency, and their finances, there are still plenty of criticisms to point out. One video which is picking up steam, is a Ugandan woman who calls out the Kony 2012 video, portraying her country as hopeless and absolutely needing western help. You can watch her response below.

As with most things in this world, Invisible Children isn’t squeaky clean and there’s a chance there has been misappropriation of funds somewhere down the line. Also, after watching the response video and numerous responses from others online, the charity seems to be showing the situation in a different light than what is completely true. At the end of the day, it still completed its purpose and raised awareness against Kony and the LRA.

Now, let’s hope we can move forward with as educated response as we can, and have all of our facts straight before progressing.

You can find our full Kony and Invisible Children coverage on these pages:

Stop Kony Movement Looks To Raise Awareness For ‘Invisible Children’ Charity

Kony: Ugandan Says He’s Already Dead

Kony 2012: The Anatomy Of A Viral Success

Rush Limbaugh Defends Joseph Kony As a Christian