In authoritarian countries where censorship is common practice, many news sites and social media platforms are blocked, restricting millions of people from accessing accurate, uncensored information about events happening around the world and even their own countries.
But apparently it’s still possible to play the video game Minecraft anywhere. That’s why a new project from Reporters Without Borders now uses the gaming platform to share news articles from censored journalists.
As incredible as it sounds, the project takes the form of a colossal virtual library, called the Uncensored Library, made from more than 12.5 million blocks that Minecraft players use to build virtual worlds. It took a couple of months and multiple developers to put together the digital construction.
Players who enter the Uncensored Library can find articles of journalists who are being censored in their own countries. The information is shared through millions of books that live in the library and people can openly read them and even add more to the shelves.
What makes Minecraft an even more impressive medium to propel freedom of the press is that there are virtually more than 145 million people who play the game each month, making it extremely difficult for a repressive government to hack the server hosting the game, as other servers and hosts can quickly take over.
As more players around the world discover the library, the team is hoping that it can spread a message about the challenges to press freedom, particularly in countries with authoritarian regimes.
