Since none of this “revolutionary” social media awareness-raising has included facts or historical context, here’s an (incredibly simplified) overview. Joseph Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that has been waging war against the Ugandan government. At least, it was, until that government forced the group out of the country in 2009.

Before this defeat, back when the Ugandan civil war was raging full force, Kony and his army used despicable, inhuman tactics. They abducted young children from their homes, forcing the girls into sex slavery and handing the boys weapons. He was a brutal, violent leader of a guerrilla force that terrorized parts of Uganda for years.

That much, the Invisible Children documentary got right. What the film ignores is the historical and cultural context of the Ugandan conflict. It ignores the widespread human rights abuses by the Ugandan government, which the U.S. helped to install. No where does it mention that this war has subsided, and that Ugandans are now focused on rebuilding communities and rehabilitating victims.

And it blatantly disregards both the role Western states played in creating the unstable environment in Africa and the continuing harm inflicted by the American government and American consumer interests.

The current conflicts in Africa can trace their roots back to Western colonialism, when states like the U.S., Britain and France carved up the region according to their own interests, with no regard for the different ethnic groups that lived there. Now, many African nations see violent clashes between disparate ethnic groups vying for control of the country.