Latest news with #MaruboTribe
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Elon Musk's Starlink blamed as tribe files £113m lawsuit over 'addiction'
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". 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."
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Brazilian tribe sues for £113million after claims they became addicted to porn after Elon Musk's Starlink system gave them access to high-speed internet
An indigenous Brazilian tribe has sued the New York Times over a report which claimed they had become addicted to porn after Elon Musk 's Starlink system gave them high-speed internet access. The Marubo tribe from the remote Javari valley, who existed in small huts scattered along the Itui River for hundreds of years, filed a defamation lawsuit seeking at least £133million ($180million) in damages this week at a Los Angeles Court. It also names TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, alleging their stories amplified and sensationalised the report for The Times and further tarnished the 2,000-member tribe. The suit claims the June 2024 NYT story by reporter Jack Nicas on how the tribe reacted to the satellite service introduction 'portrayed the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, highlighting allegations their youth had become consumed by pornography'. An amended version of the lawsuit filed on Thursday said 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 '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'. When Starlink was afforded to the Marubo tribe, they quickly discovered the incredible benefits the newfound technology had to offer. Tribespeople could now call for help in emergencies, with medical helicopters able to reach the injured in a matter of hours rather than days. The Marubo tribe from the remote Javari valley, who existed in small huts scattered along the Itui River for hundreds of years, filed a defamation lawsuit seeking at least £133million ($180million) in damages this week at a Los Angeles Court It also allowed the remote community to connect instantly with relatives or friends camped dozens of miles further down the river, or even further afield. Journalist Nicas travelled into the Amazon to visit Marubo villages and reported that tribal leaders had told him about the negative impacts the introduction of Starlink is having. The leaders said it was making people become lazy, spending hours scrolling social media with teens hooked on graphic porn. In his report, Nicas listed a range of issues apparently bought on by the tech: 'teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography'. He added one tribal 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'. Nica's article does not mention porn anywhere else, but the shocking nature of the claim meant it was pushed to the forefront of follow up stories by other outlets. One was from TMZ, who were also named in the lawsuit, which was accompanied by a video with the headline 'Elon Musk's Starlink Hookup Leaves A Remote Tribe Addicted To Porn'. The suit 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. Misconceptions brought on by the sensationalised re-telling of the story on other news platforms saw the NYT publish a follow-up, in which Nicas wrote: 'The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography. 'There was no hint of this in the forest, and there was no suggestion of it in The New York Times's article.' However, the tribe were unsatisfied with this as a response and in their lawsuit said the story 'failed to acknowledge the role the NYT itself played in fuelling the defamatory narrative'. It added: 'Rather than issuing a retraction or apology, the follow-up downplayed the original article's emphasis on pornography by shifting blame to third-party aggregators.' Nicas claimed in his original story that he spent a week with the Marubo tribe, yet the lawsuit says he was invited for a week but spent less than 48 hours in the village. Adding this was 'barely enough time to observe, understand, or respectfully engage with the community'. The plaintiffs also include two others who appeared in the NYT story - community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazilian journalist and sociologist Flora Dutra. Both played integral roles in bringing internet connection to the tribe and said it had many positive results, including facilitating emergency medicine and education for tribal children. They said the TMZ video, which shows them setting up Starlink antennas in the village, as creating the 'unmistakable impression' that the pair 'had introduced harmful, sexually explicit material into the community and facilitated the alleged moral and social decay'. The lawsuit seeks at least £133million ($180million), including both general and punitive damages, from each of the defendants. A spokesperson for the New York Times told the Associated Press: '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.' Enoque Marubo, 40, told Nicas the internet had transformed the once simple and technologically resistant way of life his people had observed for centuries. 'It changed the routine so much that it was detrimental,' Enoque admitted. 'In the village, if you don't hunt, fish and plant, you don't eat,' he said. Meanwhile, Alfredo Marubo - all members of the tribe share the same last name - said the sudden exposure to pornography had precipitated a worrying rise in overt sexual behaviour in a culture where kissing in public is seen as shocking. He said young men were not only sharing explicit videos in group chats, but that some prominent figures in the tribe had reported seeing more aggressive sexual behaviour from them. Alfredo also warned that, despite being more connected than ever before, members of the tribe had retreated from in-person social contact and had stopped speaking to their own families. TamaSay Marubo, the first female to be granted a leadership role in the tribe, said that while social media had opened the eyes of young tribespeople to the world, it had also caused them to abandon their responsibilities in favour of spending hours on their smartphones. Several members of the tribe said they were concerned the group's traditions would be lost, and also expressed worry that the social fabric of the tribe was being infected by rumours circulating on group chats. Others explained that some internet users had been subjected to abuse from strangers on social media and had fallen for unspecified scams. Tribe elder Tsainama Marubo, 73, put it simply. 'Things have gotten worse,' she said. 'Young people have gotten lazy because of the internet. They're learning the ways of the white people.' Starlink, an initiative launched by Musk under his company SpaceX, owns around 60% of the roughly 7,500 satellites orbiting Earth and is the dominant player in the internet satellite arena. Its technology was first made available in Brazil in 2022, but only reached the more remote areas of the Amazon, such as the banks of the Itui where the Marubo people live, in April last year. Enoque Marubo, who had ventured into cities and spent time away from the tribe, told the NYT he believed that achieving access to the internet could help his people share their experiences and communicate more effectively with the outside world. He was one of the main tribal members responsible for getting in touch with outsiders and arranging the delivery of the Starlink system. Enoque contacted Flora Dutra, a Brazilian activist who works with the Navi Global charity that aims to help indigenous communities in the Amazon access jobs, healthcare and other benefits, and involving them in projects that will impact the rainforest and their environment. The pair managed to contact American philanthropist Allyson Reneau, who reportedly donated 20 Starlink units and worked with Navi Global to oversee their delivery to the Marubo.
The Independent
25-05-2025
- The Independent
Amazon tribe sues New York Times over ‘porn addicts' claim
An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued The New York Times for a report that led its members being widely portrayed as technology-addled and addicted to pornography. The Marubo tribe of the Javari Valley, a sovereign community of about 2,000 people in the rainforest, filed the defamation lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages this week in a court in Los Angeles. It also names TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, alleging that their stories amplified and sensationalized the Times' reporting and smeared the tribe in the process. The suit says the Times' June 2024 story by reporter Jack Nicas on how the group was handling the introduction of satellite service through Elon Musk 's Starlink 'portrayed the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, highlighting allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography.' 'These 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,' an amended version of the lawsuit filed Thursday says. 'Such portrayals go far beyond cultural commentary; 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.' In a statement to The Associated Press, a Times spokesperson 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.' The theme of Nicas' story was that after less than a year of service, the community was now facing the same kinds of struggles with the pervasive effects of the internet and the proliferation of smartphones that much of the world has dealt with for years. Nicas listed a broad range of those challenges: 'Teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography.' He later wrote that a tribal 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.' The piece makes no other mention of porn, but that aspect of the story was amplified and aggregated by other outlets including TMZ, which ran a story and accompanying video headlined, 'Elon Musk's Starlink Hookup Leaves A Remote Tribe Addicted To Porn.' The suit says the video segment 'falsely framed the Marubo Tribe as having descended into moral collapse.' Messages seeking comment from TMZ and Yahoo were not immediately answered. The misperceptions brought on by the aggregation and repackaging of the story led the Times to publish a follow-up. 'The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography,' Nicas wrote in the the second story. 'There was no hint of this in the forest, and there was no suggestion of it in The New York Times's article.' That did not satisfy the tribe, which says in the lawsuit that it 'failed to acknowledge the role the NYT itself played in fueling the defamatory narrative. Rather than issuing a retraction or apology, the follow-up downplayed the original article's emphasis on pornography by shifting blame to third-party aggregators.' Nicas wrote that he spent a week with the Marubo tribe. The lawsuit says that while he was invited for a week, he spent less than 48 hours in the village, "barely enough time to observe, understand, or respectfully engage with the community. The lawsuit was first reported by Courthouse News. The plaintiffs also include community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazilian journalist and sociologist Flora Dutra, both of whom appeared in the story. Both were instrumental in bringing the tribe the internet connection, which they said has had many positive effects including facilitating emergency medicine and the education of children. They cited the TMZ video, which shows them setting up antennas for the connection, as creating the "unmistakable impression' that the two 'had introduced harmful, sexually explicit material into the community and facilitated the alleged moral and social decay.' The lawsuit seeks at least $180 million, including both general and punitive damages, from each of the defendants. 'The fallout from the publication was not limited to public perception,' the suit says, 'it destroyed lives, institutions, and culturally significant projects.'
CNA
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Indigenous Amazon tribe sue New York Times for defamation
LOS ANGELES: An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued The New York Times, saying the newspaper's reporting on the tribe's first exposure to the internet led to its members being widely portrayed as technology-addled and addicted to pornography. The Marubo Tribe of the Javari Valley, a sovereign community of about 2,000 people in the rainforest, filed the defamation lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages this week in a court in Los Angeles. It also names TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, alleging that their stories amplified and sensationalized the Times' reporting and smeared the tribe in the process. The suit says the Times' June 2024 story by reporter Jack Nicas on how the group was handling the introduction of satellite service through Elon Musk's Starlink 'portrayed the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, highlighting allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography.' 'These 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,' an amended version of the lawsuit filed Thursday says. 'Such portrayals go far beyond cultural commentary; 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.' In a statement to The Associated Press, a Times spokesperson 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.' The theme of Nicas' story was that after less than a year of service, the community was now facing the same kinds of struggles with the pervasive effects of the internet and the proliferation of smartphones that much of the world has dealt with for years. Nicas listed a broad range of those challenges: 'teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography.' He later wrote that a tribal 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". The piece makes no other mention of porn, but that aspect of the story was amplified and aggregated by other outlets including TMZ, which ran a story and accompanying video headlined, 'Elon Musk's Starlink Hookup Leaves A Remote Tribe Addicted To Porn.' The suit says the video segment 'falsely framed the Marubo Tribe as having descended into moral collapse.' Messages seeking comment from TMZ and Yahoo were not immediately answered. The misperceptions brought on by the aggregation and repackaging of the story led the Times to publish a follow-up. 'The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography,' Nicas wrote in the the second story. 'There was no hint of this in the forest, and there was no suggestion of it in The New York Times's article." That did not satisfy the tribe, which says in the lawsuit that it 'failed to acknowledge the role the NYT itself played in fueling the defamatory narrative. Rather than issuing a retraction or apology, the follow-up downplayed the original article's emphasis on pornography by shifting blame to third-party aggregators". Nicas wrote that he spent a week with the Marubo tribe. The lawsuit says that while he was invited for a week, he spent less than 48 hours in the village, "barely enough time to observe, understand, or respectfully engage with the community". The lawsuit was first reported by Courthouse News. The plaintiffs also include community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazilian journalist and sociologist Flora Dutra, both of whom appeared in the story. Both were instrumental in bringing the tribe the internet connection, which they said has had many positive effects including facilitating emergency medicine and the education of children. They cited the TMZ video, which shows them setting up antennas for the connection, as creating the "unmistakable impression' that the two 'had introduced harmful, sexually explicit material into the community and facilitated the alleged moral and social decay". The lawsuit seeks at least US$180 million, including both general and punitive damages, from each of the defendants. 'The fallout from the publication was not limited to public perception,' the suit says, 'it destroyed lives, institutions, and culturally significant projects".
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Amazon tribe sues New York Times over story it says led to porn addict claims
An Amazonian tribe has sued the New York Times (NYT) over a report about the community gaining access to high-speed internet, which it claims led to its members being labelled as porn defamation lawsuit said the US newspaper's report portrayed the Marubo tribe as "unable to handle basic exposure to the internet" and highlighted "allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography". The lawsuit also named TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, and said their news stories "mocked their youth" and "misrepresented their traditions". The NYT said its report did not infer or say any of the tribe's members were addicted to porn. TMZ and Yahoo have been contacted for comment. The Marubo, an Indigenous community of about 2,000 people, is seeking at least $180m (£133m) in NYT's story, written nine months after the Marubo gained access to Starlink, a satellite-internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX, said the tribe was "already grappling with the same challenges that have racked American households for years".This included "teenagers glued to phones", "violent video games" and "minors watching pornography", the report stated that a community leader and vocal critic of the internet was "most unsettled by the pornography", and had been told of "more aggressive sexual behaviour" from young report also noted the perceived benefits of the internet among the tribe, including the ability to alert authorities to health issues and environmental destruction and stay in touch with faraway family. The lawsuit claims other news outlets sensationalised the NYT's report, including a headline from TMZ referencing porn addiction. The response led the NYT to run a follow-up report around a week after its original story, with the headline: "No, A Remote Amazon Tribe Did Not Get Addicted to Porn".The report said "more than 100 websites around the world" had "published headlines that falsely claim the Marubo have become addicted to porn".But the lawsuit claimed the NYT's original story had "portrayed the Marubo people as a community unable to handle basic exposure to the internet, highlighting allegations that their youth had become consumed by pornography".The named plaintiffs, community leader Enoque Marubo and Brazillian activist Flora Dutra, who helped to distribute the 20 $15,000 Starlink antennas to the tribe, said the NYT story helped fuel "a global media storm", according to the Courthouse News they said, subjected them to "humiliation, harassment and irreparable harm to their reputations and safety". The TMZ story included video footage of Marubo and Dutra distributing the antennas, which they said "created the unmistakable impression [they] had introduced harmful, sexually explicit material into the community and facilitated the alleged moral and social decay".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."
