Notes

Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism

Minecraft 'loophole' library of banned journalism Tom Gerken BBC News, Washington DC



13 March 2020



It was initially an online forum project and has since become the most played video game ever. But , today Minecraft is being utilized in a way that its creator could not have imagined.



The game of legends that revolves on the concept of putting Lego-like blocks together with more than 145 million players each month has been turned into a hub of free speech.



To host the articles of journalists who were censored online A virtual library was carefully designed.



The work of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018, is available among the plethora of books available in the library.



Minecraft declined to comment.



Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organization that seeks to protect the freedom of information across the globe, created the project. Blockworks, the design studio that is responsible for the Minecraft library, built it.



Christian Mihr, the executive director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, said that Minecraft was a good project because he doesn't believe that it poses an issue for governments that censor their media.



"We decided to go with Minecraft because of its reach," he said. It is accessible in every country. It is not censored like some other games which are suspected of being political.



"There are large communities in all the countries included, which is why it was suggested - it's a loophole for the censorship."



He explained that the authors were selected to represent countries in which press freedom was restricted, to ensure that these communities could be able to access their work.



He did clarify, however, that permissions needed to be sought prior to publishing in libraries.



"We didn't put any information in the library without the approval of the author themselves - provided they are alive.



"In the case of Jamal Khashoggi we spoke to family members - with respect of those who were killed, and the safety of their families."



Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science, at the University of Chicago, stated to the BBC that the library was able to beat the censors , but was concerned about the response of governments.



"It's an interesting concept," he said, "But I believe there are still some problems. The government will be aware of this - the articles are going across the internet. It's not foolproof against an aggressive enemy.



He said that the strength of the library was in its use of entanglement - mixing the censored content with the game of video in the eyes censors.



"By connecting these two things, you oblige them to share content," he said. "You can't block one without the other."



Helmi Noman who is a Research Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society said that he believed the library would only have a small population.



He said that "censored content is constantly changing and varied" and that users prefer methods that don't pre-select or separate content into specific spaces online.



"Any strategy that doesn't result in an unhindered and secure browsing experience of the entire web as well as social media, direct messaging apps will likely be unsuccessful."



Due to the large number of players trying to login simultaneously the server could not be accessed regularly. It has been visited by 3,889 users from 75 different countries. It has been downloaded more than 7700 times.



After two hours of experimenting after trying for two hours, the BBC was able to access the library online and ask its patrons what they thought of it.



SoulfulGenie stated that they felt it needed more books and an area on North Korea. Another user said it was "ingenious" and stated that the library could be downloaded and reuploaded again by other users. "It is easy to duplicate and, therefore, difficult to destroy."



ReduxPL stated that the library "looks amazing indeed".



The design of the library by Blockworks was no small feat, taking 24 people from 16 different countries for 250 hours to create.



James Delaney, Managing Director of the design company, told the BBC that the goal was to create a classical design which was "on the border of fantasy".



He said it was feasible as a building, but it is over the limit of what is possible.



"We decided to go with a design that's in the neoclassical style. It's very similar to the British Museum or New York's public libraries.



In spite of these influences, he stated that Minecraft was improvisational at its core and the creators did not have to adhere to established designs.



He said that when there are many people working on the same project, "people can see each others' work and have to respond in real-time." It is a reactive way of working that can change the look of the project.



"The style is meant to symbolize power and authority. We wanted to turn that around.
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"It's not a symbol of the power of either the regime or the government. It's representing freedom of expression."



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