The short version: The Uncensored Library is a Minecraft map and server built by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) with the build team BlockWorks. It stores censored articles inside in-game books, so readers in countries that block news sites can still reach them through a game that usually isn’t blocked. It launched on March 12, 2020, and has grown to around 300 books across rooms dedicated to individual countries.
- 2020Year it opened (March 12)
- ~300Books in the archive
- 10Country rooms, including the US wing added in 2026
How it works
The build is huge: about 12.5 million blocks, placed by 24 builders in 16 countries over three months. RSF says the central dome is nearly 300 metres wide.
News sites can be blocked, but Minecraft rarely is. RSF placed real articles, in English and the original language, into written books inside a huge neoclassical building made from millions of blocks. Anyone can join the public server or download the map and read them. The central dome displays RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, which ranks 180 countries.
The original wings covered countries near the bottom of that index, including Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Vietnam’s room is built as a maze, the “Labyrinth of Truth”, to represent how hard it is to reach independent news there.
The 2026 US wing
On March 11, 2026, just before the World Day Against Cyber Censorship, RSF opened a room for the United States. RSF says it focuses on less direct pressure on journalists, such as restricted access for reporters and political and financial pressure. The organisation cited the US’s fall in its own press freedom ranking. That ranking and its reasoning are RSF’s own assessment.
How to visit
- Join the official server listed at uncensoredlibrary.com from Minecraft Java Edition, or
- Download the map from the same site and open it in single-player.
Either way, you read the books just like any written book in the game.
Why it matters to Minecraft players
It’s one of the clearest examples of Minecraft as a medium, not just a game: a famous build that doubles as an archive. It has been covered by the BBC, The New York Times and PC Gamer, and it went viral again in 2026 when a creator’s video about it passed five million views.
