<i>Kony 2012</i>: Can Viral Video Stop an International Child Killer?

: Can Viral Video Stop an International Child Killer?
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With Kony 2012, social media has taken on its next mission impossible: stopping an international child-killer.

To which we can only say: Why not?

After fomenting revolution in Iran (a green one), toppling a government in Egypt, awakening a generation to elect an African American president, stopping piracy legislation its tracks -- to name just a few accomplishments -- YouTube, Twitter and Facebook can hardly be dismissed as a means to stop an obscure Ugandan crazyman with a penchant for murdering children.

Seriously. We no longer live in a world where such a thing is the stuff of fantasy.

The viral, 30-minute video that has spent a few days on YouTube now has more than 70 million views and has lit a brush fire across the landscape of the media and political establishment.

It's not exactly a coincidence, but it's not all calculation either. It's the power of social media, and once again we are learning how the power of these technology-era tools can be world-changing in their speed and reach.

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