Invisible Children’s much-anticipated “Cover the Night” event “took place” on April 20. Despite this, the citizens of Dunedin were surprised to wake up on April 21 to find that global injustice and international human rights abuses continued around the world.
Online documentary KONY 2012 received worldwide attention last month for depicting the atrocities of Joseph Kony, the mastermind behind the Lord’s Resistance Army. The documentary and Invisible Children, the charity behind it, appealed to viewers to take part in “Cover the Night”, an event in which supporters were encouraged to work for local charities before putting up campaign material later that evening.
Despite the fashionable flurry, reaching a high of two million Twitter mentions per day in early March, the associated event failed miserably worldwide. Vancouver’s group numbered a mere 17 people. Meanwhile, Brisbane saw fewer than 50 attendees. Kony-related topics received 74,000 total Twitter mentions on April 20, less than half the level of buzz after the event’s official release.
“Cover the Night” similarly failed in Dunedin, despite having a total of eight Facebook groups associated with the event, one Twitter page and 3,554 pledged RSVPs. After a series of inquiries, Critic was unable to spot any posters in the Dunedin area – with the exception of a sad number on the corner of George and Hanover Streets, and its lonely friend down by the Commerce Building. Furthermore, Facebook organisers refused to comment, “like” or reply to Critic’s queries about the event, proving that just because you’re an internet sensation doesn’t mean you’ll make it on the mean, hard streets of Dunedin.
Thousands of Invisible activists invisibly paint the night
