# Kony 2012

> Invisible Children’s campaign reached 100 million views across online clips.

- Owner: Invisible Children
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Politics & civic
- Seed date: 2012-03-05
- Observed peak date: 2012-03-07
- Date basis: Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum.
- Spread Score: 53 (Notable, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Celebrity amplifier, Platform jump, Press loop, Controversy, Political adoption

## Summary

Invisible Children released a film and solicited celebrity shares. YouTube reported a first-week viewing peak. The campaign passed 100 million views in six days, but Cover the Night drew sparse crowds; the charity later reported $12.6 million in net proceeds.

## Timeline

- 2012-03-05 — Invisible Children (YouTube) — Invisible Children released KONY 2012 on YouTube and asked viewers to make Joseph Kony famous.
- 2012-03-06 — Causes members (Facebook) — A Causes appeal reached an existing Facebook community, which pledged and donated.
- 2012-03-06 — Oprah Winfrey (X) — Oprah shared the film after campaign outreach asked supporters to contact celebrities.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/kony-2012

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Kony 2012.” Case HIS-01477. Spread Score v1.3: 53/100. Updated 2026-10-23. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01477