ned flaherty is joining us he's a freelance researcher and writer he
reports today from boston massachusetts about exporting christianity to the
portal rich third world and much more uh... that it's a pleasure to speak with
you we've been getting so many emails about the coney twenty twelve video that
is gone completely viral
and the story has just been advancing it seems like almost every single day and i
think a lot of people don't understand some of the fundamentals about this
story so i think a good place to start is the beginning what is this
viral video about encoded the video
even that is a good question because he had after thirty minutes of watching it
it is a little difficult to tell exactly what it's about
accepted clear that it's targeted toward it
young high school students who were late junior high school
into emotional
it app appeals to yours fans of goodness whatever that might be
and encourages those kids
mail money
either in donations or the purchase of souvenirs
to this organization business crafted to corporation
called invisible children
and it is
it seems to be about capturing this
bad man
who has adopted
thirty thousand children over the last twenty six years and putting a stop to
that and and so
kids are naturally arm
inclined to do that with anybody of any age i guess with a decent part is
inclined to wanna put a stop to it in and
uh... do something and the the film sort of ends with
you don't have to know much more than that it's a bad thing and that it
happened in that we're gonna collect your money in
somehow take care of it
okay now let's there first thing that who is the batman that is the subject of
the video
than his name is joseph colony
uh... from uganda
what they don't
make terribly clear in the video which has been all over the internet
is that hw abt u ganda about six years ago
no one really knows where he isn't even paramilitary groups haven't really been
able to track them down
the thirty thousand kiddie kidnapped over the last twenty six years
they're not going to be ever recovered because
for one thing there now and all
the and maybe the rescue themselves or they don't care anymore
or perhaps there'd unfortunately uh... men untimely end but on the edge the
appeal to young people in america you know well-to-do are middle-class young
people who spend your money to stop
mister cohn he's been gone for years
and is probably
little hope of ever catching him and he's not doing now the evil that he has
had done for some
such a long time so
there a lot more evil people than that in the world that
we should all be answer im going after he's really way down on the west
but i think that the invisible children corporation like am precisely because
they can keep
using that the product called gautam connie over and over again
uh...
generate souvenir sales generate charitable donations
and keep their enterprise going okay so let's talk about that who is at the head
of invisible children
and what have you found out about when you donate ten dollars how is that being
divided up where is that money actually going is it even being used for the
charitable purposes the video pretends it's being used for
no
none of the money that the corporation has ever collected
actually went to
chaser capture or convict joseph koni
they officials of the corporation have admitted under intense
questioning from journalist
that basically
they are in a
filmmaking corporation and a souvenir manufacturing outfit
that is dedicated to making mister crony even more famous
but that's where they stop
they don't actually go to capture and we're doing even saw an innocent and
your question
most of their money is you
used to do more publicity
and to encourage more people to do more advertising the gets more sales of more
souvenirs
to get more people to send in even more money so is it hard for me to say that
the the money that is being sent back i hesitate to even use the term donated
because its citizens
the money that is being used to purchase the products available uh... is
basically is it is it profit for the company that made the video is that
really what we're talking about here
yesen a little more than that though that
the posters buttons stickers t_-shirts bracelets all that stuff that they will
sell to anybody who wants it
uh... but by the way in the first week at this
connie twenty twelve eighty it was on the internet
the corporation collected fifteen million in seven years sales
just in that week
um... they also accept donations so if you don't want to the news which is
twenty give the money don't take it
they want to answer another question you raise about where does the money go
the because in the corporations they pay themselves good salaries
uh... may make more movies may make more souvenirs would cost money
uh...
very little of it along the w gambit or they work with the ugandan government to
do
social programs and neighborhoods lee
you know welfare programs and so forth but
the weather not related to cheating mister cormier capturing him
resolving the the permanent problem
dot but one thing i want to mention to you when you say where the money go it
is important to know i think
um... this is a this corporation called and it will children is a tax-free
charity
and
it is allowed to operate that way by the u_s_ government so that not only do they
don't pay taxes but they have very limited financial reporting
and it is
corporate offices where they have about forty three employees are in san diego
california
but interesting
the bank
inven became in islands
like that one too
which is very it's very far away and it's for people who have so much money
they need to hide some of it
that that's intolerable
so lets in the open the last minute you we have here let's talk a brief without
this with his russell guy who was uh... doing a lot of press around this video
and then recently was arrested correct me if i'm wrong republic masturbation is
that true
i wasn't there that's what the reports a arm he appeared to have a combination of
either
on mental health episode and or a substance
so these episode
uh... or both
um... no one knows and that's all they've said and uh...
you know that actually that could happen to anybody in action are
as important as it might seem uh...
uh...
what what is important now is
on the uh...
corporate papers at this
tax-free corporation have two file as a juror duty of government he's listed as
a filmmaker
uh...
and and
one of his co partners one co-founders is there's also a filmmaker
that the business that they're in
they make movies and had not been the movie we're talking about the leaked on
twenty twelve was got all the publicity recently
is just the latest film made another video work over the years that didn't
get anywhere near as much our coverage
all right we've been speaking with that where he is a freelance researcher and
writers is reporting today from boston massachusetts
uh... great research on this man really a pleasure speaking to you today
okay she later