6 - Kony 2012

Summary

This chapter, the first of three case studies, illustrates how marketised global justice operates in the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector. The viral video campaign Kony 2012 by the NGO Invisible Children is analysed. The extensive reliance on marketing – making Joseph Kony *famous* – is shown to distribute attention and capital to a narrow set of issues while simultaneously impoverishing the meaning of global justice. Specifically, the chapter highlights three features of marketised global justice: the close alliance between the anti-impunity movement and military intervention; the global justice sector’s alliance with racial capitalism; and the more general de-politicisation of global justice that is linked to viewing donors as consumers. The backlash against Kony 2012 is also studied. It is revealed that the backlash was lodged in marketing terms. This is contrasted with resistance – as a response that is conscious of histories of exploitation.