The organisation behind the Kony 2012 video currently going viral on the internet claims on its website that "notoriety translates to public support" (Report, 9 March). True. Uninformed and oversimplified public support, however, also translates into notoriously counterproductive political decisions. Examples abound, ranging from the Save Darfur Coalition – advocating military intervention where tribal reconciliation and humanitarian aid should have been the priorities – to Live Aid, at best an admirable effort blinded to the political, man-made framework within which the mass starvation was allowed to take place.
Mass mobilisation can be a powerful tool in pressuring passive governments to act. But distilling a complex regional problem such as the Lord's Resistance Army into social-media-friendly hashtags and Facebook updates will unfortunately cause more damage than the good it is aiming to achieve.
It's admirable how many people are willing to stand up and make a difference; it's a shame they were unwittingly led to do so in the wrong forum.
Sander van Niekerk
The Hague, Netherlands
• Those of us working with local peacebuilding organisations combating the LRA have serious reservations about an approach that relies on external force from the US – a classic example of "outsider syndrome". This could actually make the situation worse, by amplifying Kony's power and importance (which appears to be waning) and provoking further violence. It also sidelines both the concerns and the work of almost 1,000 Ugandan peace activists.
There are echoes with the US-led embargo on the export of conflict minerals from DRC, which made many people feel good, but destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of Congolese artisanal miners. It's time to ask, whose voice should be louder – US campaigners, often with limited understanding of complex issues, or local people who will feel the impact of their actions?
Carolyn Hayman
Chief executive, Peace Direct
• Kony 2012 is a desperate video. Where were Jason Russell and America when the abductions, mutilations, killings and raids were taking place? Were they waiting for the religious, cultural and political leaders who hail from "hopeless" Uganda to fail so that they deliver us? If America's mission now is to arrest Kony, it will be not because the world didn't know, or because we, who watched our own relatives killed, did not care. It only means Russell and his enthusiasts were waiting for the right time to claim that Uganda cannot solve its own problems.
Harriet Anena
Kampala, Uganda