The Uncensored Library: An innovative approach to digital curation in a gaming environment to circumvent journalistic censorship
- Dakila News
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
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On March 12, 2020, World Day Against Cyber Censorship, The Uncensored Library was launched—a virtual library within the video game Minecraft, created by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
This initiative allows young people in countries where the press is heavily controlled to access censored news stories through a playful environment—the game itself.
Within the Minecraft map, virtual books were published containing articles previously banned or inaccessible in their home countries, such as texts by journalists who were persecuted or even murdered.
The idea is simple and powerful: to use an "alternative door"—a video game—to ensure that freedom of information is not silenced, even where traditional media is blocked.
This tool transforms what could otherwise be mere entertainment into a channel for raising awareness, and every click within the game can become a step toward the right to know.
Accessible Language: (News produced with the help of AI)
On March 12, 2020, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launched The Uncensored Library project, a digital library environment built within the game Minecraft, to publish journalistic content that had been previously censored or inaccessible in authoritarian regimes.
Technically, the virtual map was developed in collaboration with the creative agency DDB Germany, the studio BlockWorks, and the production company MediaMonks. The building adopts a neoclassical style and was constructed with over 12.5 million blocks by a team of 24 builders from 16 countries.
The collection contains virtual books with banned articles in their original languages and in English. Each wing of the library represents a country—such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, Mexico, and Vietnam—and houses texts by journalists who have been persecuted, censored, and even murdered.
From a digital curation perspective, the project represents a relevant case study for contemporary librarianship: by integrating open access, gameplay, and freedom of expression, it redefines the concept of a virtual library. Despite its technical li
mitations—such as the need for access via Minecraft Java 1.14.4—the initiative symbolizes a new frontier between entertainment and censorship resistance.
Technical language: (News produced with the help of AI)
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