Minecraft: reporters fight censorship with a secret library
To overcome media censorship, the Reporters Without Borders have built an uncensored library. The gigantic building in the video game Minecraft contains forbidden documents from five nations.
Jamal Khashoggi was a journalist and dissident. He fought for social progression in Saudi Arabia and published writings with titles such as this: «What the Arab World Needs Most is Free Expression». On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi was killed and cut up by the Saudi Arabian government at the consulate in Turkey.
There is neither freedom of speech nor freedom of press is Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia ranks 172nd in the World Press Freedom Index of the organisation Reporters Without Borders. To put this in context, Switzerland is number 6, while Norway is top on the list and Turkmenistan is last. Saudi Arabia permits no independent media: the authorities stop publications and arrest or even kill Saudi journalists.
In an attempt to stop this, the Reporters Without Borders have opened the «Uncensored Library», a gigantic building in the online video game «Minecraft».
This building allows journalists, authors and other dissidents to publish their writings as a book in the video game and make them accessible to everyone.
Overcoming censorship
Internet sites, which dissidents and critics use to publish their writings, are blocked and can only be accessed via the Tor Browser or a VPN. But this is complicated and risky. In India (ranking 140th), teenagers have been arrested for an alleged «misuse» of VPNs. It’s doubtful whether the Indian government has the means and capabilities to monitor VPN traffic. The assumption is that the mere fact of possessing of a VPN denounces a user as a dissident.
«Minecraft», however, isn’t prohibited. The largely technology-averse government sees «Minecraft» as no more than a video game – not as a massive social network. So far, only players know of the possibility to publish virtual books within the game. Others see a game that all about building things out of blocks. The curators of the Uncensored Library take advantage of this ignorance and offer a Minecraft Map. Or you can [visit] it in the game (http://visit.uncensoredlibrary.com/).
The project’s goal is to create a new generation of dissidents and critics who will help to end censorship. So far, writings from Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Mexico, Egypt and Russia have been published.
The Uncensored Library was built by Blockworks, a British company that «uses Minecraft to create experiences, communities, and learning environments». The video shows James Delaney, Managing Director Blockworks, talking about the thoughts and mechanisms that went into the design and construction of the Uncensored Library.
The Uncensored Library is based on the in-game item «Written Book», which is built by players with the item «Book and Quill» – everything in this game has to be built. Afterwards, a user can fill the book with data, i.e. text. This is what the Uncensored Library does, transforming texts into books. This allows players, to open and read all books.
The Khashoggi case
In Switzerland, we have little or no awareness when it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of press. Except when someone's harshly criticised for an opinion. But there's often a misunderstanding: the right to freedom of speech and freedom of press guarantees that you and I can say and write what we want, but it doesn't guarantee that we must be heard.
This should go without saying. In other places, it isn't given at all. To illustrate this, let's take a quick look at the life, work and death of Jamal Khashoggi.
Source: rfi.fr
Jamal Khashoggi, born on 3 October 1958, went from being a bookseller to a journalist in the 1980s. Between 1991 and 1999, he was chief editor of the daily newspaper Al Madina. Al Madina follows the government's line strongly and each issue begins with a prayer. However, on a local level, Al Madina criticises non-political matters. Social problems, health care and the education and school system are criticised as long as they aren't national political issues. Between 1999 and 2003, Khashoggi was chief editor of the English-language daily newspaper Arab News, which is much more critical of the government, but still promotes the cult of personalities surrounding the princes and rulers of Saudi Arabia.
In his articles for Arabic publications and, if permitted, in the Washington Post, Khashoggi pointed out many of the issues in his own country. He criticised the arrest of women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, and spoke out against denying women their rights. His recurring themes were freedom of press and equal rights. He advocated a secular state where religions can coexist, condemned the practices of Wahhabi Islam and described them as ultraconservative.
On 2 October 2018, Yamal Khashoggi was killed by agents of the Arab government. He was carrying out bureaucratic tasks at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey for his upcoming wedding to Hatice Cengiz. A surveillance camera shows him entering the consulate. He never left it. Forensic investigations show that there was a homicide at the consulate that was supposed to be covered up.
In the aftermath of the killing, the Arab government changed its version of what exactly happened to the journalist based on the evidence. Here's an outline of their story:
- 9 October 2018: Jamal Khashoggi left the consulate.
- 19 October 2018: Jamal Khashoggi was strangled after a fistfight.
- 25 October 2018: Shaikh Suood bin Abdullah Al Mo'jab, Saudi Arabia’s attorney general, called the killing of Khashoggi «premeditated».
- 20 June 2019: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, accepted a degree of responsibility for the killing. He stated that, although he didn’t know about the murder of Khashoggi by government agents, it happened under his watch and is therefore his responsibility.
- 23 December 2019: five government officials are sentenced to death. Three others are sentenced to 24 years in prison.
This doesn't change the fact that in countries like Saudi Arabia, critics and dissidents regularly disappear if they become too uncomfortable for the government. The circumstances of the disappearances are often referred to as «suspicious».
This is why projects like the Uncensored Library are important. It might be just a video game for some, but for others it’s a safe place where they can speak the truth and be heard without having to fear for their lives.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.