A follow-up on the prior reblog** about this.

You’ve probably seen the video all over the place by now. It addressed some important topics, so I helped nudge it along the viral pipeline. My follow-up advice on this is very simple: educate yourself.

Invisible Children has done a good job in getting your attention, and inspiring people. But like any call to activism or charitable action, it should be your invitation to research the topic more carefully, and decide what to do from a fully informed standpoint.

There are counterpoints to the message of the video. (Some serious critiques, and IC’s response.) The issues surrounding aid to Africa, especially those tangled up with its political landscape, are very complicated. They should be examined carefully before making charitable gestures indiscriminately. There are indications that Invisible Children, while well intended, may not be the most effective vehicle for your donations. If this is true, I don’t think it should be used as a basis to smear the group, or to be cynical about their motives necessarily. They did something good. They got your attention, and got people talking about something important. But then the rest is up to you, to pursue this intelligently and examine the facts.

I’m not gonna turn this blog into any sort of hub for education on this issue, or point you to a ton of reading material. All that stuff is out there for you to find, through news articles, tumblr exchanges and whatnot. I’m just offering a very simple reminder. Do your homework before getting too swept up in something you don’t fully understand.

** edit: deleted original post. After a lot more research, my conclusion is this doesn’t warrant the attention it’s received. Feel free to make up your own mind.