Celebrity activism goes high tech

From viral videos and tweets to George Clooney’s satellite network, celebrities are becoming more tech savvy in their activism.

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Actor George Clooney testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing regarding Sudan at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on March 14, 2012. “For the past year, Clooney has been one of the most vocal backers of a private satellite network — the Satellite Sentinel Project — to track human rights violations across Sudan in real-time,” writes Post blogger Dominic Basulto.

Benjamin Myers / Reuters

Actor George Clooney is arrested for civil disobedience after protesting at the Sudan Embassy in Washington on March 16, 2012. Clooney was protesting the escalating humanitarian crisis in Sudan. In an interview with Time magazine, Clooney described the Satellite Sentinel Project he has been actively involved in promoting as the "anti-genocide paparazzi.”

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

A DigitalGlobe satellite image that, according to the Satellite Sentinel Project, shows that at least 300 buildings at Tajalei village in Sudan's Abyei region were intentionally destroyed by fire. DigitalGlobe is among the organizations partnering with the George Clooney-backed Satellite Sentinel Project. The satellite network, as Post blogger Dominic Basulto writes, “could be just the beginning of a new era of high-tech celebrity activism. “

/ DigitalGlobe/Satellite Sentinel Project/www.digitalglobe.com

Actors Brad Pitt, left, and George Clooney attend a reading of "8" presented by the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on March 3, 2012, in Los Angeles. Both Pitt and Clooney support the Satellite Sentinel Project.

Michael Buckner / Getty Images for American Foundation for Equal Rights

Actor Don Cheadle looks on during day two of the New Zealand PGA Pro-Am at Jacks Point Golf Club on March 30, 2012, in Queenstown, New Zealand. Cheadle has also thrown his support behind the Satellite Sentinel Project.

Teaukura Moetaua / Getty Images

Actor Matt Damon arrives at the 82nd Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on March 7, 2010. Damon, along with George Clooney, Don Cheadle and Brad Pitt, supports the Satellite Sentinel Project. As Post blogger Dominic Basulto writes, “there is something wonderfully romantic in the notion that the leading men and women of Hollywood are real-life heroes in addition to playing them on the big screen.”

Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

Actors Andy Garcia and Bruce Willis, producer Jerry Weintraub and actor Matt Damon arrive to the premiere of the HBO documentary "His Way" on March 22, 2011, in Hollywood. Both Weintraub and Damon support the Satellite Sentinel Project. “The International Criminal Court, which is deciding the case against individuals such as Sudanese Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, specifically cited satellite results from the private satellite network,” writes Post blogger Dominic Basulto.

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

A box full to the brim with “Kony 2012” campaign posters are shown on March 8, 2012, at the Invisible Children movement offices in San Diego. A YouTube video promoting the campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, attracted millions of views and the support of some of the world’s most well-known celebrities.

John Mone / AP

In this July 31, 2006 file photo, <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/obama-deploys-combat-forces-to-fight-lords-resistance-army-in-central-africa/2011/10/14/gIQAYB8KkL_blog.html'>Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army</a>, speaks during a meeting with a delegation of 160 officials and lawmakers from northern Uganda and representatives of non-governmental organizations in Congo near the Sudan border. The “Kony 2012” campaign undertaken by the nonprofit advocacy group Invisible Children and featuring a nearly 30-minute YouTube video has received both intense <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/invisible-childrens-stop-kony-campaign/2012/03/07/gIQA7B31wR_blog.html?wprss=blogpost'>support and criticism</a>, as the Post’s Elizabeth Flock reports.

In this July 31, 2006 file photo, Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, speaks during a meeting with a delegation of 160 officials and lawmakers from northern Uganda and representatives of non-governmental organizations in Congo near the Sudan border. The “Kony 2012” campaign undertaken by the nonprofit advocacy group Invisible Children and featuring a nearly 30-minute YouTube video has received both intense support and criticism, as the Post’s Elizabeth Flock reports.

AP / AP

Jason Russell, co-founder of the nonprofit group Invisible Children poses in New York on March 9, 2012. Russell is the director of the viral video that calls for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the fugitive rebel leader of the Lord's Resistance Army militia group in Uganda. The video has received more than 83 million views since it was posted to YouTube. However, less than two weeks after the video’s stunning debut, Russell was detained by police and hospitalized on March 15, after witnesses saw him “running through streets in his underwear, screaming and banging his fists on the pavement,” according to a March 16 Associated Press report. “In hindsight, the whole Kony 2012 campaign was deeply flawed from the beginning,” writes Post blogger Dominic Basulto, “even before the series of bizarre and unfortunate incidents that enveloped the organizers of the campaign.”

Brendan McDermid / Reuters

Television personality and media mogul Oprah Winfrey presents at the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network portion of the Discovery Communications “Upfront at Jazz at Lincoln Center” in New York. Winfrey was among the many high-profile celebrities who tweeted in support of the “Kony 2012” movement spearheaded by the nonprofit group Invisible Children.

George Burns/OWN / AP

Kim Kardashian arrives at the "True Reflection" Fragrance Launch on March 22, 2012, in West Hollywood, Calif. Kardashian was one of a number of high-profile celebrities who called on her Twitter followers to “Stop Kony” and support the “Kony 2012” movement promoted by Invisible Children.

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Singer Justin Bieber speaks during an interview with Elvis Duran for "Elvis Duran and the Morning Show" at Bagatelle Restaurant on March 24, 2012, in West Hollywood, Calif. Bieber first retweeted a post from director Jon M. Chu to his 19 million Twitter followers on March 6 and then retweeted a post from Invisible Children the next day promoting the “Kony 2012” movement.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

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Cast member Charisma Carpenter poses at the premiere of 'The Expendables 2' at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California August 15, 2012. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 17. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

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US President Barack Obama drinks a Guinness beer at The Dubliner pub on March 17, 2012 in Washington. Obama went to the bar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

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LEWISBURG, WV - AUGUST 11: ( EDITORS NOTE: Image was created using the iPhone 4s with Snapseed's vintage filter) Two young boys sip a drink at the West Virginia State fair on August 11, 2012 in Lewisburg, West Virginia. People from across the region travel to the fair, which is celebrating its 88th year, and hosts various events including equestrian and livestock demonstrations along with a full compliment of carnival rides. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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