Description

Introduction: To combat censorship in countries with little or no freedom of the press, Reporters without Borders released The Uncensored Library in Minecraft, which took the gaming world by storm. Contained within this library are articles and books containing crucial information and reliable journalism published by reporters who face imprisonment, exile, or death. The purpose of The Uncensored Library is to deliver information to the public, avoiding suppression by governmental systems. Already a globally renowned project which empowered over 25 million people; the recreation of the Uncensored Library’ in Decentraland is being seen as the next logical step in the project’s maturity. In making the Uncensored Library accessible in the metaverse, Reporters Without Borders will be able to actively lower the barriers to entry for censored citizens to access politically critical information, whilst further empowering censored journalists by widening their potential audience. Information about the Project: Since its creation, The Uncensored Library has reported a media reach of 2.7 Billion and has established itself as a grassroots movement that benefits citizens across the globe, all with a media budget of €0. Overall, The Uncensored Library has reached more than 25 million gamers from 165 different countries, many of them suffering from censorship (including all target countries). As of 2021, the project had amassed over 17 years of accumulative playing time from individual players who spent countless hours inside the library reading politically censored books and articles by independent investigative journalists. Why should we build this in Decentraland? As outlined in Decentraland’s Code of Ethics, DCL strives to be a safe space for internet users, where all operations and transactions in Decentraland are rooted in a standard conduct of honesty, integrity, and openness, with a rigid desire to respect the human rights and interests of all involved parties in the space. The Uncensored Library is a project which aims to fight against centralized authoritarian entities which actively disregard the rights, freedoms, and opinions of their citizens. The work done by Reporters Without Borders in the fight for truth and transparency in countries riddled by corruption and inequalities is admirable, and Web 3.0 can offer such organizations with new solutions in the fight against human rights violations. One of the founding principles and solutions brought by Web 3.0 is the effective fight against corrupt, untransparent centralized authorities, and bringing the ‘digital home of press freedom’ to Decentraland is a smart way of signaling to the world that the Metaverse is so much more than just a place for celebrities to host concerts or for brands to sell NFTs. Press Mentions: https://www.adweek.com/agencies/the-uncensored-library-using-minecraft-as-a-home-for-press-freedom-wins-adc-top-honors/ https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/tech/minecraft-uncensored-library-scli-intl/index.html https://analyticsindiamag.com/beyond-gaming-how-techies-and-designers-are-using-minecraft-for-its-ubiquitousness%EF%BF%BC/ https://www.webbyawards.com/news/mediamonks-winner-stories-the-uncensored-library/ https://tcrn.ch/38PXG5X https://gizmodo.com/this-minecraft-library-provides-a-platform-for-censored-1842298748