NYT Introduces Changes After Marubo Tribe Connects to Internet
Some Media Distort Story as "Porn Addiction"... Tribe Members Push Back
A tribe living in the Amazon rainforest has filed a massive damages lawsuit against American media outlets, including the New York Times (NYT), alleging that articles portrayed tribe members as being addicted to pornography.
According to reports from the Associated Press and the BBC on May 23 (local time), representatives of the Marubo tribe from the Javari Valley in the Amazon recently filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court in California, seeking $180 million (approximately 250 billion KRW) in damages against the NYT, the American entertainment outlet TMZ, and the portal site Yahoo, among others.
Previously, in June of last year, the NYT published an article introducing the changes in the Marubo tribe following the introduction of Elon Musk's Starlink internet service. The article stated, "About 2,000 tribe members are using the internet to communicate between villages, exchange messages with loved ones, and alert others in emergencies."
The article also reported some tribe members' concerns, including statements such as, "Tribe members are not communicating with their families because of the internet," "People are becoming lazy and not working due to their obsession with smartphones, and the situation has worsened," and "Some minors are watching pornography."
Subsequently, some media outlets cited the NYT and began spreading distorted articles with headlines such as "Marubo tribe members addicted to pornography." In particular, TMZ published a sensational article titled, "Tribe's Starlink connection leads to porn addiction."
In response, Jack Nicas, the NYT reporter who first covered the tribe, published a follow-up report stating, "The Marubo people are not addicted to pornography," and added, "During my reporting trip to the village, I did not witness such behavior, and the NYT article did not imply any such facts."
Nevertheless, the distorted articles spread worldwide, including in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, India, T?rkiye, and Mexico, and memes mocking the situation appeared on social networking services (SNS).
The Marubo people themselves protested. Enoch Marubo, the leader of the tribe and the person who led the introduction of Starlink, stated on SNS, "These are baseless false claims, reflecting a biased mindset that disregards our autonomy and identity."
According to the BBC, in the lawsuit, the Marubo tribe criticized the NYT article, stating that "it portrayed the Marubo as a community incapable of handling basic exposure to the internet and emphasized claims that the younger generation has become obsessed with pornography."
They also argued, "Reporter Nicas did not stay long enough to observe, understand, or engage with the community based on respect." While Nicas claimed to have lived in the Marubo village of about 2,000 people for about a week, the tribe asserts that his actual stay was less than 48 hours.
In response, the NYT stated that it would respond vigorously to the lawsuit. In a statement sent to the AP, the NYT said, "We believe the article carefully explored the benefits and complexities of new technology within the proud history and longstanding culture of the indigenous village."
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