The Uncensored Library: The digital home of press freedom

NT Features

The press wields immense power in a society that calls itself democratic. It is a building block of opinions, helps shape movements and controls policies through well-informed criticism. Charles Dickens, in one of his books, called the press a “mighty engine.” Napoleon once said – “Your hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” An independent and well-informed press keeps arbitrary governments in check, along with its irresponsible administrators. Exercising constant vigilance on those at the helm, a free press is the symbol of free people.

But in many countries, most forms of media – websites, social media and blogs are controlled by oppressive leaders. Young people grow up in a confined system where their opinion is heavily manipulated by governmental disinformation campaigns.

Amid a world where most media is restricted or controlled, the most successful computer game is still accessible. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has used this loophole to bypass internet censorship and bring back the truth within Minecraft. On March 12, the “World Day Against Cyber Censorship”, the uncensored library opened its doors. The virtual structure is a giant neo-classical complex hosted on its own server, which Minecraft players can access freely by pointing their game toward “visit.uncensoredlibrary.com” in the server browser. “This is one of the best uses of a virtual space I’ve come across,” wrote @ziyatong on her Twitter.

It houses works of journalists from five different countries, hoping to provide a platform for their voices to be heard again, despite having been banned, jailed, exiled and even killed. Their forbidden articles have been republished in books within Minecraft, giving readers the chance to inform themselves about the real political situation in their countries and learn about the importance of press freedom. Presented in plain text inside Minecraft’s craftable books – not the easiest way to absorb all these important essays and reports – it is better than nothing. “I’ve often thought how in-game chat would be an excellent way to conduct conversations in private, but not as a way to bypass censorship. This Uncensored Library did just that. Adore the architecture too!” wrote @TomGiuretis on his Twitter.

Yulia Berezovskaia

Yulia Berezovskaia is editor in chief of grani.ru, one of Russia’s many blocked websites. Grani.ru is a popular news source for protest activities, politically motivated trials and civil society activism. The website reported extensively about the events during the Ukraine conflict in February and March 2014, the “EuroMaidan” protests in Kiev and the annexation of Crimea. On March 13, 2014 grani.ru was blocked by the Russian government. It was one of the first internet mediums that got banned under the Lugovoy law, that allows the prosecutor-general’s office and the communications regulatory agency to block any content they regard as “extremist” without referring to a judge.

Mada Masr

Since 2013 the news portal Mada Masr has reported on corruption and security issues in a manner that is often critical of the government. It is the last professional news website that reports independently and is one of the most important sources of quality journalism in Egypt. Since May 2017 the website has been blocked in the country. Its offices were raided and in November 2019 several staff members were briefly taken into custody without any legal charges. Egypt is one of the most dangerous places on earth for journalists and the editors of Mada Masr risk a lot to publish independent journalism. Even taking credit for their work can be dangerous and they often leave their authors’ identities open.

Javier Valdez

Javier Valdez was a journalist and founder of the newspaper Riodoce, a weekly dedicated to crime and corruption in Sinaloa, one of Mexico’s most violent states. He was also the author of several books on drug trafficking. Valdez was killed on May 23, 2017. He was 50 years old.

                                       Of course, this is not structured, secure and private like an end-to-end encrypted chat group. A user accessing the library map might have their nickname, tied to a Minecraft account, be visible to other users, and their logs would reflect the visit. It is unlikely for Microsoft to give up that information to a curious government, but there is definitely risk involved.

“The Uncensored Library is a bold use of Minecraft and really encapsulates everything that is great about this game and the community it has create