---
# System prepended metadata

title: "\n    Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism"

---

<h1>
    Minecraft 'loophole' Library Of Banned Journalism</h1>
    <html><body><p><p><br/> Minecraft 'loophole' library of banned journalism Tom Gerken BBC News, Washington DC<br/></p><br/><p><br/> 13 March 2020<br/></p><br/><p><br/> It started out as a concept on a forum online and turned into the best-selling video game of all time however, today Minecraft is being used for something even its creator would have never thought of.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> The cult game that revolves on the concept of putting Lego-like blocks together with more than 145 million people playing each month has been transformed into a nexus of free speech.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> A virtual library was carefully designed to host the articles written by journalists which were censored online.<br/> <a href="https://minecraft-server-hosting.net/">minecraft-server-hosting.net</a> </p><br/><p><br/> You will find the work of Jamal Khashoggi (the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018) in addition to a variety of other books at the library.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Minecraft has refused to comment.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard the freedom of information around the world The project was created by the non-profit organization. Blockworks, the design studio that is responsible for the Minecraft library, created it.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Christian Mihr, executive director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, told the BBC that Minecraft was good for the project since he believes it is not seen as a threat by governments which restrict their media.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "We decided to go with Minecraft due to its accessibility," he said. It is available in every country. It is not censored as other games that are believed to be politically-motivated.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "There are large communities in each of the countries featured This is why the idea came up - it is an avenue for censorship."<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He said that the authors were selected to represent countries in which press freedom was limited, to ensure that these communities could be able to access their work.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He did clarify, however, that permissions had to be sought prior to publishing in a library.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "We didn't put any information into the library without the permission of the authors involved in the event that they're still alive.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "In the case of Jamal Khashoggi we spoke with family members - with regard to the safety of those who have passed away and the safety of their families."<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Nick Feamster, Neubauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago He told the BBC that the library could be effective at beating censors, but he was concerned about the way governments would react.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "It's an interesting idea," he said, "But I believe there are still some issues. The government will be aware of this as the articles are spreading all over the internet. It's not going to be impervious to a determined adversary.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He said that the library's strength was due to the use of Entanglement which is the mix of censored materials and video games in the eyes of the editors.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He added, "By entangling the two items, you force them all to share content." "You can't block one without the other."<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Meanwhile Helmi Noman who is a Research Affiliate of the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society said that the library could be more likely to attract a limited audience.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He stated that "censored content is dynamic and diverse" and that people prefer methods that don't pre-select or compartmentalize content in specific areas on the internet.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "Any approach that doesn’t create an effortless, safe browsing experience across entire web, social media and direct messaging apps is likely to fail."<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Due to the sheer number of players trying to log in at the same time, the server could not be accessed frequently. It has been visited by 3,889 players from 75 countries and has been downloaded more than 7700 times.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> After two hours of attempting, BBC finally visited the virtual library and asked users what they thought of it.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> SoulfulGenie said that they felt it needed more books and a section on North Korea. Another user called it "ingenious" and claimed that the library could be downloaded and reuploaded again by other users. "It is simple to duplicate and, therefore, difficult to kill."<br/></p><br/><p><br/> In contrast, other players focused on the look of the library The library's appearance was the focus, with ReduxPL declaring that it "looks amazing indeed".<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Blockworks took 250 hours to design the library, which was designed by 24 people from 16 different countries.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> James Delaney, the company's managing director, told the BBC that the aim was to create a classic style that was "on the edge of imagination".<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "It seems plausible as a real-world building," he said, "but it is pushing the boundaries of what is feasible.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "We chose a design that is in the neoclassical style. It's very like the British Museum or New York's public libraries.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He stated that Minecraft was improvisational in its core, so builders weren't restricted to following a specific design.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> He explained that when there are a lot of people working on the same project, "people can see each others' work and have to react in real-time." It's a reactive method of working that can alter the appearance of the project.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "The style is intended to signify authority and power. We wanted to turn that around.<br/></p><br/><p><br/> "Instead of representing the power of the government or regime, it's representing the free press."<br/></p><br/><p><br/> How gaming became the new telethon<br/></p><br/><p><br/> 23 June 2019<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Sega joins gamers parodying viral tweet<br/></p><br/><p><br/> 12 April 2019<br/></p><br/><p><br/> Man buys a website through a gaming company's nose<br/></p><br/><p><br/> 25 October 2019<br/></p></p></body></html>
</h1>