Global journalism campaigning organisation Reporters sans Frontières (Reporters without Borders) last week unveiled a website under the brand name ‘We Fight Censorship,’ intended to publish content that has been banned, censored or which had been a cause for retribution against the author.
The WeFightCensorship (WeFC) website has the proclaimed objective of getting the better of censorship and will supplement other actions taken by the Reporters sans Frontières to protect freedom of information, lobbying, advocacy and assistance to reporters.
French and English language versions of the WeFightCensorship website are already running. Documents submitted from non-French or English speaking nations will, however, be published in their original languages.
The site will consider contents such as videos, photos, sound files and articles, including those written by reporters who have been the victims of expurgation. In case the site’s editorial committee selects content that might not otherwise have been published, a caption and the author will accompany them.
Content may also be linked to documentation and details of why it was banned, enabling readers to gain a better understanding of the significance of such materials.
The sites also features a ‘digital safe’ where users can transmit content anonymously, which would be considered for publication.
In the shape of a ‘Digital Survival Kit,’ WeFightCensorship will also offer practical tools and advice to journalists on outwitting censorship. Set to be unveiled over the next few months, the survival kit aims to offer a counterbalance to censorship and repressive regimes, especially in African countries such as Somalia, which has been characterised by censorship in the last year.
WeFightCensorship has been designed to be easily duplicated, thus allowing for fast creation of mirror versions to check against the possibility of filtering, shutting down or blocking.
The site is also intended to enable Internet users to publicise and distribute the censored contents thus giving it as much prominence as possible.
The European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and Paris City Hall have already declared backing to the WeFightCensorship project to ensure the sites meets its objectives.
