A viral video campaign aiming to raise awareness of the activities of the Ugandan guerilla leader Joseph Kony has had over 86 million viewings on YouTube. A US agency took the opportunity to help NGOs understand the astonishing reach and impact achieved by thiscampaign "…simplify your site, stripping down all actions or content that detracts from that core action. Then, focus all of your channels and messages on that one action. Report back progress. Repeat." But Ethan Zuckerman warns against such simplification and argues that a more complex look at the situation "…would look at the numerous community efforts, often led by women, to mediate conflicts and increase stability. It would focus on the efforts to rebuild the economy of northern Uganda, and would recognize the economic consequences of portraying northern Uganda as a war zone."

The Nigerian/American author Teju Cole saw in the campaign a view of the world where  "Africa serves as a backdrop for white fantasies of conquest and heroism." Writing inPambazuka News, Sokari Ekine, unearthed links between the Kony campaign and US right wing evangelical Christians.