Notes

Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism

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



13 March 2020



It began as an online forum and has since grown to become the most played video game ever. But , today Minecraft is being used in a way that its creator could never have imagined.



The cult game that revolves around placing Lego-like blocks with more than 145 million people playing each month has been transformed into a nexus of free speech.



To host the articles of journalists that were censored online The virtual library was meticulously designed.



You will find the work of Jamal Khashoggi (the journalist who was murdered by Saudi agents in 2018) in addition to a variety of other books at the library.



Minecraft declined to comment.



Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard the freedom of information throughout the world, created the project. Blockworks, the design studio responsible for the Minecraft library, developed it.



Christian Mihr, the executive director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, said that Minecraft was a worthy project since he doesn't think that it poses an issue for governments that control their media.



"We have chosen Minecraft because of its global reach," he said. It is accessible in every nation. The game is not subject to censorship like some other games which are suspected of being political.



"There are big communities in every country featured This is why the idea came up as an opportunity to bypass the censorship."



He said the authors were selected to represent the countries where press freedom was restricted, so that people from those communities would be able to access their work.



However, he clarified that permissions were sought prior publishing the book in the library.



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



"In the case of Jamal Khashoggi we spoke with family members - in respect for those who have been killed, and to ensure 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 effective in getting past the censors, however, he was worried about how governments might react.



"It's an interesting idea," he said, "But I think there are still some issues. The government will be aware of this - the articles are going across the internet. It's not foolproof against an armed adversary.



He explained that the strength of the library was due to its use of Entanglement which is the mixing of the censored content and the video game to the eyes of the censors.



He said, "By entangling the two items, you force them all to share content." "You cannot censor this one without the other."



Meanwhile Helmi Noman who is a Research Associate of the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society, said he believed that the library would be likely to have a limited audience.



"The content that is censored is constantly changing and diverse," he said, adding that in his research "the users prefer approaches that don't pre-select or compartmentalise content in certain spaces online.



"Any approach that doesn't create an unhindered and secure browsing experience of the entire internet, social media and direct messaging applications will probably be ineffective."



Due to the number of players trying to log in at the same time the server was unable be regularly accessed. Minecraft server list It has been visited by 3,889 users from 75 countries, and has been downloaded more than 7,000 times.



After two hours of trying, BBC finally visited the virtual library and asked users what they thought of it.



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



Meanwhile, other players focused on the look of the library and ReduxPL declaring that it "looks incredible indeed".



The design of the library by Blockworks was no small feat it took a team of 24 people from 16 countries for 250 hours to create.



James Delaney, the company's managing director, stated to the BBC that the company's goal was to create a design that was "on the edge of imagination".



He said that it was plausible as a construction, but it is over the limit of what is possible.



"We chose to design it that was in the neoclassical style. It's akin to the British Museum and public libraries in New York."



Outside of these influences he claimed Minecraft was an improvisational game at its core and the creators were not limited to pre-defined patterns.



He explained that when there are many people working on the same task, "people can see each other's work and must react in real-time." So it is a very reactive method of working, and it can alter the appearance of the project.



"The style is used to symbolize authority and power We wanted to turn this on its head.



"Instead of representing the power of the government or regime instead, it's representing the free press."



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