These Songs Are Censored News Stories In Disguise

A new campaign from Reporters Without Borders Germany uses music streaming to spread the words of journalists from countries where information is repressed. Launched on March 12 for World Day Against Cyber Censorship, the Uncensored Playlist campaign uses music as a loophole to make information available in five countries with strict government censorship. The organization worked with creative agency DDB Berlin and digital production company MediaMonks. The journalists included exiled Chinese journalist Chang Ping, Egyptian journalist Basma Abdel Aziz, members of the Thai network for free journalism Prachatai, Uzbekistan's Galima Bukharbaeva and Vietnamese blogger NgÆ°oi Buon Gio (The Wind Merchant). The reporters worked with musical director Lucas Mayer to turn 10 articles that had previously been censored into the lyrics of pop songs. These songs were then uploaded onto freely available music streaming sites Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer under the hashtag #truthfindsaway. The Uncensored Playlist is available in the five countries with the journalists' names protected by aliases, neutral album artworks, and alternative song titles tweaked to work around pre-censorship, in case the original tracks get blocked. Bianca Dordea, managing director of DDB Berlin, says in a statement: "The Uncensored Playlist shows oppressive leaders all over the world that they can't silence freedom of information. More than a fundraising or awareness effort, we're happy to have landed on a unique way--music as a Trojan Horse, of sorts--to allow these censored stories to reach the world".

These Songs Are Censored News Stories In Disguise

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