Invisible Children, the San Diego-based non-profit that shot to fame with its video exposing the brutality of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, has released a second video: "Kony 2012: Part II – Beyond Famous."
The video, released almost a month after the group's first film, takes on criticisms of the first video, which drew some 100 million hits on YouTube.
Also read: Can a YouTube Video Stop an International Child-Killer?
The group was criticized for a lack of transparency and oversimplifying the 26-year-old conflict involving Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.
Absent in "Part II" is the voice of Invisible Children co-founder Jason Russell, who directed the first video and appears in it with his young son, Gavin. Russell became the focus of a separate viral video last month after witnesses saw him pacing naked on a sidewalk in a San Diego neighborhood, screaming incoherently and banging his fists on the pavement.
San Diego police detained him for public nudity, as well as alleged masturbation and vandalism, but did not charge him. He was later transferred him to a medical facility, where he was diagnosed with "reactive psychosis."
Also read: 'Kony 2012' Director Suffering From Reactive Psychosis, Wife Says
Unlike the original "Kony 2012" video, which presented the global issue through a child's eyes, the sequel features more interviews with Africans who talk about how complex the rebel conflict is. They say it requires a multi-pronged approach to stop the warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for heinous attacks in multiple countries.
The new video, an early copy of which was sent to the Associated Press, also acknowledges that Kony's Lord's Resistance Army has drastically dwindled in size and influence while insisting the rebel group does still pose a threat.
Invisible Children's CEO Ben Keesey said the sequel was made in quickly — around two weeks — to try and keep the spotlight on the issue.
"It's always hard to keep the momentum on an issue like this, especially because the majority of people watching this have no relationship, no connection to something that is happening thousands of miles away," he told the AP. "Our goal is just to create compelling stories to bring back what the point is — which is right now there are people living in fear of violence and being attacked by the LRA and we need to be reminded of that."
Here's the new video: