The world has a fickle relationship with the media. They're either labelled as parasites with the goal to manipulate and advance their own agendas. Or heroes risking it all to expose shocking truths and bring about meaningful change. However, one thing is certain: freedom of the press is the cornerstone of democracy.
But as the media landscape becomes more convoluted and global surveillance surges, is censorship and news manipulation bound to increase?
This month, we sit down with the great minds behind The Uncensored Library, an initiative that tackles censorship through gaming. Tobias Natterer and Nina Martinelli of DDB Berlin explain how they're using Minecraft, the world's most popular computer game, as an effective publishing loophole. The initiative combines an exciting gameplay experience while getting essential facts and stories into the hands of those who need them most.
"Press freedom is one of the most important things we can hold as a society," says Project Leader and Senior Copywriter Tobi Natterer. "The big issues in the world like climate change can only be solved by all of us together. "In Germany, our political parties are under pressure now to act on it, and they actually just renewed their climate act."
"It's very important that there's a free press not only in one country but around the world where people can get informed about these issues and then act on them," Natterer added.
Journalists within the Reporters Without Borders network —partners of The Uncensored Library along with Blockworks— submit stories that would be censored in their home countries. These are then uploaded as Minecraft books, or audio files, into the digital library. Then, just like any gamer would use Minecraft, they use their avatars to explore The Uncensored Library and take a deep dive into a range of interesting and important topics.
"Young people do genuinely care about these topics, they're very political, and they're very socially active."
But why Minecraft? According to the 2020 stats, it has more than 126 million monthly players. And with the majority of players between 15 and 21 years, it's the perfect platform to reach young gamers, particularly in oppressive countries with no or limited access to mainstream media. Not only does it inform youth on critical issues, but it fosters meaningful dialogue where players learn about censorship and its impacts first-hand from their peers.
"When the Black Lives Matter movement happened, [we saw] this huge rise in instant activism... we really saw that young people do genuinely care about these topics, they're very political, and they're very socially active," says Art Director Nina Martinelli. "Young people need to have reliable information to be able to inform themselves... that allows us and young people to resist and protect ourselves from big issues that are affecting our society."
To date, The Uncensored Library has reached more than 20 million gamers from 165 countries, including Russia, Vietnam, Egypt, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia — resulting in a total playtime of more than 15 years!
The Podcast Series
'Can design save us?' is a series exploring design as a pioneering force for good. We dive into the most pressing problems of our time and meet inspiring people using innovation to solve them. We explore the good, bad, complex and controversial. Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Podimo.
If you have feedback or story suggestions, please drop us a line, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and share.
