ONFR+ Imprisons Its Own Articles for World Press Freedom Day
Today, the 27th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, online news platform ONFR+ is showing solidarity and installing a temporary barrier on their free news articles to digitally demonstrate how journalists are repressed around the world. The initiative was created in collaboration with global Toronto-based creative agency, Juniper Park\TBWA.
Despite progress and the constant struggle of journalists around the world, freedom of the press is a right and a duty that remains flouted in many parts of the world. Journalists are threatened, imprisoned or killed every day; with the sole fault of having done their job. The reality is that when their stories are repressed, so too is press freedom.
ONFR+ wants that to change, and this World Press Freedom Day is encouraging the public to help draw attention to the plight of imprisoned journalists and the precariousness of the media through a symbolic paywall. In order to lift the paywall barrier and read the article, readers must share an article about press freedom online. Once shared, the article is freed. But, when another reader clicks the shared article, they too are served the digital barrier. The recursive mechanism of the barrier allows the campaign to reach more Canadians, so that more people will understand the plight of press freedom.
“Given Canada has a free and open press, we wanted to create something unique that would speak directly to Canadians about the repression so many face around the world,” says Neil Walker-Wells, group creative director at Juniper Park\TBWA. “What better way to do this than temporarily restrict their own access to free press.”
