"I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever," read a tweet from “The Colbert Report”last Thursday — in what New Yorker magazine commentator Jay Caspian Kang called a “comedic sin of delivering a punch line without its setup.”

In light of the "Kony 2012" saga -- the story of one valiant white hero who was ready to take down Central Africa's Lord's Resistance Army... until a mental breakdown of the naked variety brought about his tragic downfall -- more NGOs are contemplating the ethics of utilizing social and digital media to promote their causes.

The goal of public diplomacy is to communicate and engage in a meaningful and mutual way with foreign publics. Now non-state actors such as Invisible Children have the ability to do just that. However, with the democratization of information sharing, thanks to new media tools, comes great responsibility.

APDS Blogger: Marissa Cruz-Enriquez

Kony 2012 represents a successful utilisation of soft power and public diplomacy that may force Ugandan policymakers to react positively to the groundswell of interest in and scrutiny of Uganda. The video campaign inadvertently encourages Ugandans to reflect on the state of the country today, almost 50 years after independence.

"We congratulate the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have mobilized to this unique crisis of conscience," Carney said at a news conference on Thursday, adding the video has helped raise awareness about the "horrific activities" of the child-recruiting Lord's Resistance Army.

The wildly successful viral video campaign to raise global awareness of a brutal Central Africa rebel leader is attracting criticism from Ugandans, some who said Friday that the 30-minute video misrepresents the complicated history of Africa’s longest-running conflict.

The wildly successful viral video campaign to raise global awareness of a brutal Central Africa rebel leader is attracting criticism from Ugandans, some who said Friday that the 30-minute video misrepresents the complicated history of Africa's longest-running conflict.