A virtual library inside Minecraft lets anyone read censored journalism. Now it has a room dedicated to growing press freedom threats in the United States.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expanded its Uncensored Library — a virtual library built inside Minecraft, the world's bestselling video game — with a new room dedicated to the United States. The US room documents the growing pressure on press freedom and access to information under the current administration: journalists arrested, homes raided, government data scrubbed from websites and critical media outlets excluded from press conferences.
It's a notable addition to a library that, since its 2020 opening, has focused on countries like Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The US room doesn't allege systematic state censorship but instead spotlights what RSF calls the "subtler attacks" — the chilling effects, self-censorship and structural erosion of media independence happening inside an established democracy. Among its contents: removed government web pages, analysis of FCC pressure on media companies and a political cartoon by Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Telnaes that the Washington Post refused to publish, depicting Jeff Bezos kneeling before Donald Trump.
The library works as a loophole. While authoritarian governments routinely block independent news sites, Minecraft is freely accessible in almost every country. Censored articles appear as in-game books, readable by anyone with internet access and a copy of the game. Built by a team of 24 Minecraft specialists, the library has been visited more than a million times, and its books have been read 10 million times.
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RSF's approach is a sharp example of using the infrastructure of entertainment to protect something far more serious. By embedding journalism inside a game played by hundreds of millions, the organization sidesteps the technical and legal barriers that governments use to suppress information, without requiring users to install VPNs or navigate the dark web. It also reframes the conversation around press freedom.
The addition of a US room signals that threats to independent journalism aren't confined to autocracies; democracies can erode media freedom through lawsuits, exclusion and institutional pressure rather than outright censorship. For brands and organizations thinking about how to reach audiences in restricted information environments, the Uncensored Library is a reminder that the most effective distribution strategies sometimes mean going where gatekeepers aren't looking.