Music Bypasses Censorship to Tell Reporters Without Borders' Stories

Thankfully it's hard and absurd to imagine a world where news is censored and freedom of speech is questioned, however in many parts of the world, like China, Egypt, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, this is a daily reality.

DDB Germany has created an experiential campaign challenging these restrictions by using music as a medium to get important stories heard.

Working closely with MediaMonks, the team created The Uncensored Playlist for Reporters Without Borders Germany, enlisting high profile journalists who have faced controversy for their dedication to the written word to transform their articles into pop songs. 

Exiled Chinese journalist Chang Ping, members of the Thai network for free journalism Prachatai, Egypitan writer Basma Abdel Aziz, Uzbekistan’s Galima Bukharbaeva and Vietnamese blogger Bui Thanh Hieu (of The Wind Merchant blog) make up the journalists involved in this campaign.

Music composer Lucas Mayer rewrote the articles and produced the songs with local musicians, while director Iris Fuzaro documented the process (as seen above). 

The Uncensored Playlist contains 10 tracks, putting an alias name for the journalist and using their article's title as the name of the song. The collection is available on all major streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music and is available around the world, including the reporters' native countries. 

“The Uncensored Playlist shows oppressive leaders all over the world that they can’t silence freedom of information," says DDB's MD Bianca Dordea. "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."

Click here to find out more about the initiative or follow its #TruthFindsAWay hashtag.

Listen to The Uncensored Playlist below: