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<p>Minecraft 'loophole' library of banned journalism By Tom Gerken BBC News, Washington DC </p> <p>13 March 2020 </p> <p>It began as an online forum project , and has since become the most popular video game ever. However, now Minecraft is being utilized in a way that its creator could not have imagined. </p> <p>The center of free speech has taken the iconic game, which involved placing Lego-like blocks in the same space with more than 145,000,000 people each month, and has turned it into an icon. </p> <p>To host the articles of journalists that were censored online A virtual library was meticulously designed. </p> <p>You will find the work of Jamal Khashoggi (the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018) as well as a host of other books in the library. </p> <p>Minecraft has refused to comment. </p> <p>Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organization that aims to ensure the privacy of information around the world has created the project. Blockworks, the design studio that is responsible for the Minecraft library, created it. </p> <p>Christian Mihr, executive director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, told the BBC that Minecraft was a great choice for the project since he believes that it's not seen as an enemy by governments that control their media. </p> <p>"We chose Minecraft because of its global reach," he said. "It is accessible in every nation. The game is not subject to censorship as other games that are believed to be political. </p> <p>"There are huge communities in each of the countries featured This is why the idea came up - it is a loophole for the censorship." </p> <p>He explained that the authors were chosen to represent countries where press freedom was restricted, to ensure that those communities could have access to their work. </p> <p>He did clarify, however, that permissions needed to be sought prior to republishing in the library. </p> <p>"We didn't put any information into the library without the consent of the respective authors - if they're still alive. </p> <p>"In the Jamal Khashoggi case we spoke with family members - in regard of those who have passed away and the safety of their families." </p> <p>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 beating the censors, but he was concerned about the way governments would react. </p> <p>He said it was an interesting idea but there were issues. The articles are being circulated online and governments will be aware. It's not foolproof to a determined enemy. </p> <p>He said that the strength of the library comes through its use of entanglement to mix the censored content with the video game in the eyes censors. </p> <p>"By entangling these two things you force them to share content," he said. "You cannot censor this one without the other." </p> <p>Helmi Noman who is a Research Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society, stated that he believed the library would only attract a small audience. </p> <p>He added that "censored content is constantly changing and varied" and that people prefer approaches that don't preselect or separate content into specific areas online. </p> <p>"Any approach that doesn’t create a seamless, secure browsing experience across the entire web, social media, and direct messaging apps is likely to fail." https://addictgaming.com/ </p> <p>Due to the sheer number of players trying to log in at the same time, the server could not be accessed regularly. Despite the limitation on concurrent users, it has been visited by 3,889 people from 75 different countries. It has also been downloaded over 7,000 times. </p> <p>After two hours of attempting, BBC finally visited the virtual library and asked its users what they thought of it. </p> <p>SoulfulGenie stated that they believe that the library needs more books and one on North Korea. Another user described it as "ingenious" and said that the library could be downloaded and reuploaded again by other users. "It is simple to duplicate and, therefore, difficult to kill." </p> <p>While other players were focused on the look of the library, with ReduxPL declaring that it "looks amazing indeed". </p> <p>The design of the library by Blockworks was no easy feat that took 24 people from 16 different countries for 250 hours to build. </p> <p>James Delaney, Managing Director of the design company told the BBC that the goal was to create a classic design which was "on the edge of fantasy". </p> <p>He said that it was feasible as a building, but is pushing the limits of possible. </p> <p>"We picked a design that is that is in the neoclassical style. It's akin to the British Museum and public libraries in New York." </p> <p>He claimed that Minecraft was improvisational in its fundamentals, which means that creators weren't restricted to following a pre-determined design. </p> <p>He explained that when there are many people working on the same task, "people can see each their work and react in real-time." So it is a very reactive method of working, and that changes the look. </p> <p>"The style is used to symbolize the power and authority of the wearer - we wanted to turn this on its head. </p> <p>"It's not a symbol of the power of the government or the regime. It's symbolizing freedom of expression." </p> <p>How gaming came to be the new telethon </p> <p>23 June 2019 </p> <p>Sega joins gamers parodying viral tweet </p> <p>12 April 2019 </p> <p>Man buys website under the nose of a gaming company </p> <p>25 October 2019 </p>
