JTG MINI: KONY 2012

JTG MINI: KONY 2012

From Just The Gist by Just The Network

April 7, 2026 · 53 min · Season 1 · Episode 63

About this episode

This episode covers the rise and fall of the KONY 2012 viral campaign and its impact.

On March 5th, 2012, a 27-minute YouTube video dropped and within six days, 100 million people had watched it. Every celebrity shared it. Oprah. Beyonce. Everyone. The premise was simple: make a Ugandan warlord named Joseph Kony so famous that the world would have to stop him. It became the fastest viral video in history. But in less than two weeks, the whole thing completely collapsed, ending with the man behind it, Invisible Children founder Jason Russell, having a very public naked breakdown on a street in San Diego.  This is Just The Gist (MINI) of KONY 2012: the viral video, Jason Russell and Invisible Children, the slacktivism scandal, the Lord's Resistance Army, and the spectacular public meltdown that ended it all. . We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's Breakin' Nooz, JTG After Show AND Bonus eps! You can access them by joining the Gistener Club via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Premium Subscriptions. Watch Just The Gist episodes on Youtube @JustTheGistPodcast Follow Just The Gist on Instagram and TikTok @JustTheGistPodcast Follow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterland Want to give us a SuGISTion? Tell Rosie to stop singing so much? Email…

People in this episode

Host: Rosie Waterland

Topics covered

  • viral video
  • Joseph Kony
  • slacktivism
  • public meltdown
  • Invisible Children

Keywords

  • KONY 2012
  • viral video
  • Jason Russell
  • Invisible Children
  • slacktivism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Invisible Children

Places: Uganda, San Diego

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