Popular video game Minecraft has created a virtual library where players can access censored news articles from journalists around the world.
A virtual library where users can access the articles written by journalists who have been killed, jailed or exiled by governments can now be found in Minecraft, including the works of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Minecraft, a video game where users can build virtual worlds out of blocks and create their own story lines, partnered with Reporters Without Borders for the project to allow users to access articles banned in five countries that rank poorly on the nongovernmental organization's World Press Freedom Index, namely Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, who was critical of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's policies, was allegedly killed and dismembered on October 2, 2018, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The suspects were said to be men with close ties to the highest levels of the Saudi government and bin Salman. The Crown Prince denied the allegations but took responsibility for the tragedy as a Saudi leader.
Users can also read the articles written by Javier Valdez, a Mexican journalist who founded the Riodoce newspaper dedicated to crime and corruption but was killed by gunmen in 2017.
Other censored works available on the virtual library in Minecraft include texts by exiled Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Nguyen Van Dai, as well as articles from Russia's blocked grani.ru website and Egypt's blocked Mada Masr portal.
The creators called the project "a loophole to overcome censorship." The library was launched on Thursday in commemoration of the World Day Against Cyber Censorship.
Articles in the library are available in English and the original language in which the texts were written.
Christian Mihr, managing director of Reporters Without Borders Germany, said: "In many countries around the world, there is no free access to information. Websites are blocked, independent newspapers are banned and the press is controlled by the state."
"Young people grow up without being able to form their own opinions. By using Minecraft, the world's most popular computer game, as a medium, we give them access to independent information," he added.
