The Marubo Tribe of the Javari Valley has filed a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times following a report that claimed their stories had been amplified and sensationalised
A Brazilian tribe has launched a staggering £133million lawsuit amid claims they became addicted to porn after Elon Musk’s Starlink gave them access to high-speed internet. The Marubo Tribe of the Javari Valley, a sovereign community of about 2,000 people in the rainforest, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times following a report that claimed their stories had been amplified and sensationalised.
The group is seeking a whopping £133million in damages after filing the lawsuit at Los Angeles Court this week. In addition, they also alleged TMZ and Yahoo are also responsible for tarnishing the 2,000 member tribe. The original New York Times story was published in June 2024 and reported how the tribe reacted to the satellite service and “portrayed the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, highlighting allegations their youth had become consumed by pornography”.
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They also said in the lawsuit that the statements were “not only inflammatory but conveyed to the average reader that the Marubo people had descended into moral and social decline as a direct result of internet access”.
It added that “such portrayals go far beyond cultural commentary’ and claimed they ‘directly attack the character, morality, and social standing of an entire people, suggesting they lack the discipline or values to function in the modern world”.
After Starlink gave the tribe the benefits to the technology, they were soon able to call for help in emergencies and medical helicopters could reach them in a matter of hours rather than take days.
Meanwhile, it also allowed them to connect with relatives and friends who were further afield. The New York Times travelled to the Amazon to visit the Marubo villages and reported on the alleged negative impacts of Starlink. The leaders said it was “making people hooked on graphic porn and spending hours on social media.”
The newspaper wrote: “Teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography”.
They also added one leader “is most unsettled by the pornography. He said young men were sharing explicit videos in group chats, a stunning development for a culture that frowns on kissing in public”.
Despite not mentioning porn anywhere else in the article, it was pushed to the front of the article and picked up by other outlets including TMZ, who wrote a story, along with a video, with the headline “Elon Musk’s Starlink Hookup Leaves A Remote Tribe Addicted To Porn”.
The lawsuit, which was launched on Thursday, claims the video “falsely framed the Marubo Tribe as having descended into moral collapse”.
“The fallout from the publication was not limited to public perception. It destroyed lives, institutions, and culturally significant projects,” it added.
A spokesperson for the New York Times said: “Any fair reading of this piece shows a sensitive and nuanced exploration of the benefits and complications of new technology in a remote Indigenous village with a proud history and preserved culture. We intend to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”