Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism
Minecraft 'loophole' library of banned journalism By Tom Gerken BBC News, Washington DC
13 March 2020
It began as a concept on a forum online and then became the top-selling video game of all time However, now Minecraft is being used to do something its creator would not ever have imagined.
The game of legends that revolves on the concept of putting Lego-like blocks together with more than 145 million people playing every month has been transformed into a center for free speech.
To host journalistic articles who were censored online The virtual library was carefully designed.
Work of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018, can be found among the many books in the library.
Minecraft has not yet made a comment.
The project was developed by the non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders, which strives to protect the freedom of information worldwide, and the Minecraft library was developed by design studio Blockworks.
Christian Mihr, executive director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, told the BBC that Minecraft was good for the project since he believes that it isn't seen as an issue by governments that restrict their media.
"We chose Minecraft because of its reach," he said. It is available in every nation. It is not censored like other games believed to be political.
"There are large communities in all the countries which is why it was suggested - it's a way to circumvent the practice of censorship."
The authors were chosen to represent countries where press was censored, to ensure that people from these communities could access their work.
He did clarify, however, that permissions needed to be sought prior to republishing in the library.
"We did not put any material in the library without the approval of the author themselves - if they're alive.
"In the case of Jamal Khashoggi we spoke with family members - regarding the safety of people who have died and the safety of their families."
Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, told BBC that the library could be successful in getting past the censors, however, Feamster was concerned about how governments may respond.
He said that it was an interesting concept, but that there were still issues. The articles are being circulated online and governments will be aware. It won't be foolproof against an aggressive enemy.
He said that the strength of the library stemmed from its use of entanglement - mixing up the censored material with the game of video in the eyes of the censors.
He said, "By entangling the two things , you force them both to share content." "You can't censor this one without the other."
Helmi Noman, a Research Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society said that he believed that the library would only have an unintentional audience.
He added that "censored content is constantly changing and varied" and that users prefer to use approaches that don't preselect or compartmentalise content in particular areas on the internet.
"Any strategy that doesn't result in a seamless and secure browsing experience of the entire web including social media, direct messaging apps will likely be ineffective."
The server, which holds 100 concurrent users was often unavailable due to how many players were trying to log on at once. It has been visited by 3,889 people from 75 countries and has been downloaded more than 7,000 times.
After two hours of trying the BBC managed to visit the library online and ask its patrons what they thought about it.
SoulfulGenie stated that they believed "it requires more books as well as a new section on North Korea" and another user called it "ingenious in many ways", adding that, as the library may be downloaded and reuploaded by other users, "it is easy to duplicate and, consequently, difficult to destroy".
ReduxPL stated that the library "looks amazing indeed".
Blockworks took 250 hours to design the library, which was completed by 24 people from 16 countries.
James Delaney, Managing Director of the design company told the BBC that the company's goal was to create a classic design which was "on the border of fantasy".
He said that it was a plausible construction, but it is pushing the limits of possible.
"We decided to go with a design in the neoclassical style. It's similar to the British Museum and public libraries in New York."
In spite of these influences, he claimed Minecraft was an improvisational game at its core, so the builders were not restricted to set patterns.
"With many people working on the same project," he said, "people are able to see each other's work and have to respond in real time. So it is a very reactive way of working, and it can alter the appearance of the project.
"The style is intended to symbolize power and authority. We wanted to change that.
"It's not a symbol of the power of the government or the regime. It's a symbol of freedom of speech."
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