Amazon Tribe Sues New York Times Over Internet and Porn Story

An Amazon tribe is suing the New York Times (NYT) over a story about their new internet access. The tribe says the report made it seem like they became addicted to porn.

The lawsuit says the NYT wrote that the Marubo tribe could not handle the internet. It also says the story claimed their young people were watching too much porn.

The lawsuit also names TMZ and Yahoo. It says those sites made fun of the tribe’s youth and gave false ideas about their culture.

The NYT says its story did not say anyone in the tribe was addicted to porn. TMZ and Yahoo have not replied yet.

The Marubo tribe has about 2,000 people. They are asking for at least $180 million in damages.

The NYT wrote the story nine months after the tribe started using Starlink. Starlink is a satellite internet service from Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.

The NYT said the tribe now had the same problems as many in the U.S. This included kids always on their phones, playing violent games, and watching porn.

The story quoted a tribe leader who was worried about porn. He had heard that some young men were acting more aggressive.

The NYT also said the internet helped the tribe. They could now contact doctors, report damage to nature, and talk to faraway family.

The lawsuit says other news sites made the story worse. For example, TMZ had a headline that talked about porn addiction.

After this, the NYT wrote a second story. It was called: "No, A Remote Amazon Tribe Did Not Get Addicted to Porn."

That report said over 100 websites had posted false headlines about the tribe.

But the lawsuit says the NYT’s first story still gave the wrong message. It made the tribe look weak and out of control.

Enoque Marubo, a tribe leader, and Flora Dutra, a Brazilian activist, filed the lawsuit. Dutra helped bring 20 Starlink antennas, each worth $15,000, to the tribe.

They say the NYT story led to a media storm. Because of this, they faced shame, threats, and damage to their names.

The TMZ story also showed a video of them handing out the antennas. They say the video made it look like they caused the tribe’s problems with porn and other bad content.

A NYT spokesperson said:

“The story was fair and thoughtful. It looked at both the good and the bad sides of internet use in a proud and traditional tribe. We will strongly fight the lawsuit.”