A little tech help with press freedom: Censored articles placed in Minecraft library
16 March, 2020
A virtual library housing censored articles from all over the world has been created within the hugely popular gaming Minecraft by press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Minecraft, using its signature pixelated graphics, enables players to build entire universes from Lego-like digital blocks, either alone or with others online.
RSF said it had put work by banned, exiled or killed journalists in five countries-Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Vietnam-on an open server, so that it is available for players to view despite local censorship laws.
“In these countries, where websites, weblogs and free press on the whole are strictly limited, Minecraft is still accessible by everyone,” the group said in a news release.
“These articles are actually available again within Minecraft, hidden from government surveillance technology inside a computer game. The books could be read by everyone on the server, but their content cannot be changed,” it said.
In May last year, Minecraft said 176 million copies of the overall game have already been sold since its launch ten years ago.
The project, announced on Thursday to mark the World Day Against Cyber Censorship, is named the “Uncensored Library” and takes the kind of a large neoclassical-style building in the overall game.
RSF said the library was growing, with more texts being added both in English and their original language.
Already available in the overall game are articles by slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and from Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr, which includes been blocked in the North African country since 2017.
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