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Political Campaigns on the Internet

April 23, 2012

They protest against war criminals, discrimination and wars in the Middle East. More and more activists have discovered the Internet as a platform for spreading their messages. But in doing so, they have to face user criticism.

https://p.dw.com/p/14jmU

Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony has long been wanted for war crimes. In March 2012, the hunt spread to the Internet. The American organization Invisible Children produced a video, "Kony 2012" and disseminated it on the Net. The emotionally-charged video about Joseph Kony's ordering the abduction of children to become child soldiers got almost 90 million hits. Donations were collected, but only a fraction of the money ever reached Africa. That has triggered a heated debate on the web over the video's legitimacy. The Facebook campaign "Israel Loves Iran" by Tel Aviv-based graphic designer Ronny Edri has also caused controversy. Edri says he simply wants to take a stand for peace. Shift spoke to him and to German web expert Markus Beckedahl about the effectiveness of political Internet campaigns.