The Uncensored Playlist is a new project from Reporters Without Borders Germany that uses music streaming services to spread censored news stories around the world. It pairs local journalists with local musicians in China, Egypt, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam to write songs that convey the news, and then releases the songs via Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music. All of the songs have been recorded in English as well as the individual countries’ languages. For the songs’ international release, they are credited to the journalists that wrote them. However, to protect the writers and to avoid censorship laws, for their release within their original countries, they are credited to aliases and feature alternate titles.
Bianca Dordea, managing director of creative agency DDB Berlin, says in a statement, “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.”
Writers involved in the project include exiled Chinese journalist Chang Ping, members of the Thai non-profit news network Prachatai, Egyptian journalist Basma Abdel Aziz, Uzbek journalist Galima Bukharbaeva, and Vietnamese blogger Bui Thanh Hieu.
Check out the playlist and watch a video about its creation below. Head to the Uncensored Playlist website to learn more about the project.
