The Uncensored Library
Open the game- Year
- 2020
- Objective
- Other
- Industry
- Other
- Mechanic
- Adventure & Quest
- Platform
- In-Game
- Added
- October 2026
- 1
Players reach the project through a microsite with an explainer video and making-of, then choose one of three entry points: joining a public Minecraft server, downloading the map to play offline or host their own copy, or taking a 360° browser walkthrough with no Minecraft required.
- 2
Players spawn outside a vast neoclassical palace modeled on real public libraries, then walk through a glass-floored hall revealing a giant world atlas and the slogan #truthfindsaway underfoot.
- 3
In the domed main hall, players find a floor map ranking press freedom across 180 countries, a ceiling of national flags each paired with a book on that country's press situation, and a central lectern displaying the World Press Freedom Index.
- 4
Wayfinding signs in each country's language and English mark the entrances to the exhibit wings, and teleport pads scattered through the building let players jump instantly between distant wings instead of walking.
- 5
From the hall, players branch into country-specific wings — Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Egypt, an RSF wing, and later additions including Brazil, Belarus, Eritrea, Iran, a COVID-19 censorship wing, and a 2026 United States wing — each staged as a themed environment reflecting that country's relationship to press freedom.
- 6
The core activity throughout is opening in-game books at shelves or lectures to read censored articles in both English and the original language; the books cannot be edited and multiple visitors can read the same one at once.
- 7
Wing design varies with its subject: Russia's wing uses a candlelit colonnade leading to a pool with a giant kraken and sunken binary code to house banned Grani.ru texts, Mexico's wing lines a path with memorials to twelve murdered journalists including Riodoce founder Javier Valdez, and Saudi Arabia's wing centers on a giant cage holding the writings of Jamal Khashoggi.
- 8
Because the Minecraft server is multiplayer, players move through the library alongside other visitors and can discuss what they're reading in the in-game chat, with no fixed end to a session.
Objective
Reporters Without Borders needed to put censored journalism back in front of readers in countries where news sites are blocked — without a media budget. Minecraft was the loophole: a game already installed on millions of devices that no government was going to ban.
Solution
The player arrives not at a website but outside a vast domed palace, reached by joining a public Minecraft server, downloading the map to run offline, or taking a 360° walkthrough in the browser if they don't own the game. Inside, a world map on the floor of the entrance hall ranks press freedom in 180 countries, and wings branch off for Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Egypt, and others, each built from that country's censored reporting. Walking, flying, or stepping on teleport pads, the player approaches a lectern or shelf, opens a book, and reads the article inside — text they can't edit, shared in real time with other visitors moving through the same rooms. A session ends whenever the player logs off; the library itself stays open, with new wings and new articles added over time.
Results
- 20M+
- gamers reached in 165 countries
- 2.7B
- media reach from press coverage
- 10M+
- book reads since launch
- 62%
- rise in rsf donations
Reached over 20 million gamers in 165 countries, with a combined play time of 15 years; the map was downloaded more than 300,000 times by 2021 and the community produced over 400 YouTube videos. Press coverage hit 790 articles and a media reach of 2.7 billion — on a €0 media budget — while RSF donations rose 62%. By March 2026, RSF reported over 1 million visits and 10 million book reads since launch.
Can you still play it?
Sources
Yes — the Uncensored Library is still live and growing: visit the public Minecraft server at visit.uncensoredlibrary.com, download the world map, or explore it in-browser without Minecraft via the 3D walkthrough on the project's microsite. RSF keeps adding content, including a new US room and updated Russia, Belarus and Egypt sections unveiled on March 11, 2026.
